The Palestinian territories witnessed an escalation in violations of media freedoms during last June
The last June has witnessed an escalation in violations of media freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories compared to the previous month, where the district court in Jerusalem sentenced Al-Alalam TV correspondent, Khader Shahin, and producer, Mohammed Sarhan, for two months imprisonment. The occupation soldiers have also attacked the photographer journalists Nayef Al-Hashlamoun and his brothers, Najeh and Abd Al-Hafiz, Hazem Bader, Iyad Hamad, Yosri Al- Jamal and his assistant Maa’moun Wazwaz.
The Palestinian security forces in the West Bank have arrested the journalists: Awad Rjoub, Dr. Farid Abu Dhair, and Alaa’ Altiti, Qays Abu Samrah, Younis Hasasneh and the journalist writer Seri Sammour. They have, moreover, stopped Al-Jazeera Television staff (Wael Shioukhi, Zeiad Al-Aqrat and Mohammad Salameh) and deleted the material from the camera. The security forces in Gaza have also arrested Seri Qudwah and attacked Mohammad Mashharawi.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) expresses its deep concern for the ongoing arrests of journalists and writers by the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the continued detention of a number of other journalists in their prisons who were arrested in the past months (Iyad Srour, Mustafa Sabri, Murad Abu Al-Bahaa’). MADA also denounce the rejection by the Preventive Security force to release the journalist Mustafa Sabri, despite the decision issued by the Supreme Court of Justice to release him.
MADA expresses condemnation of all violations committed by Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian security forces against the Palestinian journalists, which is a rude violation of the freedom of opinion and expression, and so MADA asks for stopping the attacks against journalists and releasing the arrested ones.
Details of violations:
(1 June) - Aljazeera Net correspondent Awad Rjoub was arrested by the Palestinian Military Intelligence Force. Rajoub said that he received a phone call from the mentioned force asking him to come to their headquarters in Hebron. He went there at around 12:00 pm, where they asked him to hand over his personal possessions and to sign an arrest warrant, and then they started to investigate him for an interview he made with one of Hamas leaders to be included in a report to Al-Jazeera Net. He was released at 4:00pm of the same day. Rajoub was arrested by the Preventive Security Force on 29 July 2008 and released a month later.
(2 June) - Iqra’s TV correspondent, Younes Ibrahim Hasasneh (31 years old), was arrested by the Palestinian Preventive Security Force. His wife reported that a force from the above mentioned Force raided their house in the town of AlShioukh (Hebron) at about 3:30 pm and asked him to accompany them to their headquarters in Hebron to be asked a few questions and then return home the same day. Twenty six days after arrest, his wife has visited him whereas he told her that he was tortured the first five days of his arrest and then transferred to regular rooms, and he was questioned about the nature of his journalistic work , but with no charges. Hasasneh was arrested by the Palestinian Intelligence Force on 3 November 2008 and released six days later.
(10 June) - Quds Television correspondent Mohamed Zuhdi Mashharawi (23 years old) was attacked, by the Palestinian police in the Gaza city. Mashharawi said that he was covering the visit of a Qatari delegation to Alshifa Hospital in Gaza city at about 12:00 pm when he was informed by the hospital administration that the coverage of the visit is limited to one television channel. There was a discussion between him and the hospital administration on this issue and then the police of the hospital security intervened and told him that photographing is prohibited. There was a debate with them since this is not their competence. They attacked him by beating and detained him for one hour at the hospital security room. Later he protested to the Police Department, which has promised to investigate the incident. At night, they apologized to him and stressed that the attack was a personal decision.
(10 June) –Alnajah Press Office Director, Dr. Abd Al-Fattah Abu Dhair (47 years old) who is a lecturer at the media section at Alnajah University, was arrested by the Palestinian Intelligence Force in Nablus city. His wife said that the security force surrounded their house about 3:00 pm and knocked the door. When she opened they asked about her husband. She told them that he is inside, and then they asked her to call him to come. During this time his son, Baraa’ was returning home. When he asked about the situation, they attacked him and detained him in one of their car. Afterwards they have arrested Dr. Abu Dhair and released his son. Abu Dhair reported, after his release on June 15th, that he was interrogated for his journalistic work and the office ownership.
(14 June) – Alalam Television correspondent, Khader Shahin and the producer, Mohammad Sarhan, were sentenced by the district Court in Jerusalem. The Director of Alalam Office in the West Bank, Fares Sarafandi, reported that the court sentenced Shahin and Sarhan for two months imprisonment and six months imprisonment with a stay of execution, but the their defense attorney appealed against the court decision to the Israeli Court of Justice whereas they will remain under house arrest until pending the appeal. The Israeli occupation authorities have arrested Shahin and Sarhan, on 5 last January under the pretext of publishing information on the movements of the Israeli occupation army prior to the ground war in the Gaza Strip, at the beginning of this year, and released them on the fifteenth of the same month on bail, and imposed house arrest on them since that time, and prevented them from journalistic work based on the district Court decision. The same court had overturned the decision of imposing house arrest on them on the twenty-second of June.
(15 June) - Aljazeera Television correspondent Wael Ash-Shioukhi, cameraman Zeyad Al-Aqrat and his assistant Mohammed Salameh were stopped by a barrier of the Palestinian Preventive Security on the entrance to the town of Dura. Ash-Shioukhi reported that they were returning from the village of Beit Ar-Roush after preparing a report on the death of Haitham -Amr, who had been detained at the prison of the Palestinian Intelligence Force, when they were stopped by members of the Force who confiscated their cameras and equipment and asked them to receive them from the Force headquarters in the city of Hebron as a routine procedure. The staff actually went there and waited for about an hour and a half to meet the Director who returned the camera and equipment to them, where it was found that that the intelligence erased the filmed material.
(15 June) - The rejection of releasing freelance journalist, Mustafa Sabri, by the Palestinian Preventive Security Force. His wife said that the Supreme Court of Justice issued a decision to release Sabri on 15 June, but he is still detained so far and she still unable to visit him at the Preventive Security prison in Beitunia town near Ramallah. Sabri was arrested on 21/4/2009 and before that he was arrested several times by the Palestinian security forces.
(19 June) - Palestine Website for Media and Information Network was penetrated by Israeli hackers. The Network General Supervisor, Azmi Shioukhi said that the ten news sites of the network were penetrated and all the material contained in these sites were deleted, but the technical staff was able to regain control of the sites after two days and re-publish the material that was deleted from the WebPages except for “Palestine Sport" and materials that have been published in the period between 30 April -1 June2009. He stressed that the reason for targeting and destruction of the web site is the desire to withhold the fact of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
(20 June) - Journalist writer, Abd Al-Fattah Seri Sammour (35 years old), was arrested by the Palestinian Military Intelligence service. His wife said that her husband had been arrested when he was summoned through telephone to the headquarters of the above mentioned force in the city of Jenin. His wife believes that the arrest came as a result of his articles published by a number of news sites, such as Al-Haqaeq and the Arab Times in addition to his blog, but with no charge.
(23 June) - The Jordanian “alhaqiqa aldawliya" Newspaper correspondent, Qays Abu Samrah was arrested, by the Palestinian Preventive Security Force. His wife said that Abu Samrah received a summon by the Intelligence Force for the next morning, however, members of the Preventive Security Force came to his house in the village of Sennirya (Qalqilya-West Bank) at approximately 12:15am, and have searched it and confiscated his computer and then arrested him. Abu Samrah had been arrested on the twenty-second of last February by the same force and was released after two days of detention.
(23 June) - Alsabah Newspaper Site editor Seri Mohammad Qudwah (42 years old) from his home in Gaza city by the security forces. His wife said that a group of security forces in uniform and civil dress knocked at the door of their home about 01:00 am, her husband opened the door to them, and then they searched the house, confiscated two laptop, computer and fax, in addition to his mobile phone, and then arrested him.
(23/ June) - The trial of journalist Alaa’ Altiti in the Magistrate’s Court was resumed in the city of Hebron. Altiti said that the list of charges against him included working for Aqsa Television which belongs to Hamas Movement and sedition. The trial has been postponed to the thirtieth of next September. Altiti was prevented from working as a correspondent of Aqsa TV by the security forces last November on the basis of a decision issued by the cabinet prohibiting Al-Aqsa work in the West Bank on 16 September 2007. The security forces have also arrested him several times during the past two years.
(25 June) – Journalist Ala’ Altiti was arrested by the Palestinian Intelligence Force in the city of Hebron. Altiti said that a group of members of the above mentioned force arrested him as he stood in front of the telecommunications company in the city of Hebron at about 02:30pm and took him to the headquarters of the intelligence where they accused him of having interview for Aqsa Television with Dr. Aziz Dweik, The Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council who was released from the Israeli prison a few days ago. He has denied having an interview with Dweik and was released at about 06:30pm.
(27 June) – Reuter’s photographer Nayef Hashlamoun and a number of Palestinian journalists were attacked in the village of Safa (Hebron) by Israeli occupation forces. Hashlamoun said that he was covering a voluntary work of Palestinian, Israeli and international supporters in the village of Safa morning when one of the Israeli soldiers severely beaten his chest and his right hand resulting in his fall to the ground and one of his cameras was crashed. The occupation forces have prevented the access of the ambulance to the place where he stayed about half an hour lying on the ground suffering from severe pain in the heart area. His brother, Najeh has succeeded with other journalists to transfer him to Alia Hospital in the city of Hebron for treatment. Najeh, who works as a freelance photographer, said that he and the other journalists in the place were exposed of to pushing and kicking by the soldiers, particularly the France Press photographer Hazem Bader, Reuter’s cameramanYosri Al-Jamal and his assistant Maamoun Wazwaz, the Associated Press cameraman Fadi Hamad and the European Agency (EPA) photographer Abd Al- Hafiz Al-Hashlamoun.
