Palestinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms (Mada)
Media freedoms violations in OPT during October 2008
A lot of arrests among journalists in OPT
Last month witnessed a big escalation of media freedom violations in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), where the expanded campaign of arrests reached eleven journalists by the Palestinian security services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces detained three journalists and assaulted another, and settlers attacked five journalists.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (Mada) expresses its grave concern at the continuing policy of detaining journalists, which poses a great danger to freedom of expression, leading to a further decline in the professional level of the Palestinian media.
The continuing policy of the security services in Gaza is to prevent journalists from covering some internal events, as happened at Al-Azhar University, and even a suspicion of journalists who are in the region, as happened with two Ramatan agency teams. The harassment is to the extent that it pushes journalists to avoid covering internal events, which Mada considers a gross violation of media freedom and imposes on journalists the practice of self-censorship.
The intelligence service in Bethlehem forced Aqsa TV cameraman Osaid Amarneh to sign a pledge not to work with Aqsa Television. Their attempt to impose the same thing on his colleague Mohamed Ishtiwi, and their pressure on Tariq Shehab which pushed him to stop work with Aqsa radio, is considered not only a gross violation of media freedom, but also deprives some journalists from their sources of income.
Mada expresses deep concern over the continuing Israeli attacks on journalists, mainly by settlers, which poses a threat to their lives.
Mada condemns all attacks on journalists and:
• Demands the speedy release of all detained journalists, and calls for the prohibiting of journalists" arrest on their professional work background.
• Calls on the security services to halt their policy of pressure on journalists to leave work with certain media outlets such as Aqsa TV and Radio.
• Demands to allow all media outlets to operate freely and safely in all Palestinian areas.
• Demands the prosecution of the aggressors of journalists, and to bring them to justice.
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Details of violations:
(Oct. 2) - Associated Press cameraman Mohamed Omar Athbeh was arrested by the Palestinian Preventive Security Service in Qalqilya city (West Bank). His father said that his son was summoned to the headquarters of the preventive security on the third day of the Eid Oct 2, and was under arrest since then. He suffers from kidney stones, and they transferred him to the hospital when his suffering became unbearable. Athbeh was arrested on May 8, by the Palestinian intelligence service and was released in June
(Oct.8) - Aqsa TV cameraman Osaid Amarneh was forced by the Palestinian intelligence service in the city of Bethlehem to sign a pledge not to work with Aqsa TV. Amarneh, who was arrested in the Sept. 21, said he spent the last period of his detention in solitary confinement. They told him that he will not be released until he signs the pledge not to work with Aqsa Television, which they forced him to sign on 8 October, then they released him. Amarneh was arrested several times by the Palestinian security services during the present and past years.
(Oct.12) - Freelance journalists Akram Khalid el-Louh, Yusef Ali Fayyad, and Hani Ahmed Ismail were arrested by internal security service in Deir Al-Balah city (Gaza Strip).Three groups of the internal security service raided the homes of the three journalists, at the same time nearly, at about 1:30 am Sunday, Oct. 12, and arrested them. According to three of their brothers, they confiscated from Fayyad"s house, his computer and mobile phone in addition to his brother Ashraf"s computer. From el-Louh"s house they confiscated his computer, camera and two mobiles, in addition to documents, and from Ismail"s house his computer.
(Oct.14) - Journalist Iyad Sha"ban Srour from the Yafa Press Office was arrested by Palestinian intelligence service, in Hebron city (WB). His mother said that a group of Palestinian intelligence service came to his home at about 9 pm and arrested him. They returned half an hour later and asked for his office key and took it, then they searched the office and confiscated three computers and files.
(Oct.16) - Ramatan Agency cameraman Mohammed Abu Sido and soundman Mohammed Zaanin were arrested in Gaza city by the Palestinian security services. Abu Sido said that they were standing next to the gate of Al-Azhar University after their coverage of a seminar in a nearby building, when a group of uniformed security personnel asked them if they had filmed inside the university campus. They denied they had filmed and they asked him to give them the camera to check it, but he refused. The guards asked a police car to come and transfer them to the police station (Aljawazat), where they insulted them during the ride. After getting there the police spokesman Islam Shahwan reviewed the video and then returned it to them, and they were released after half an hour. Al-Azhar University has witnessed incidents between students loyal to Hamas and Fatah, a few days that preceded this incident. Abu Sido has been subjected to beatings and his camera was damaged by the Executive Force on Sept. 7, 2007.
(Oct.16) - Aqsa TV correspondent A"laa Titi was arrested by the Palestinian Preventive Security Service in Hebron city. His father said that a group of them surrounded their house in the El Aroub refugee camp for two hours, and demanded A"laa to come out. They told them that he is in Hebron, but they didn"t believe them, so they asked them to enter and search the house but instead of that they called another group which came and joined the other group. The family called A"laa, and he told them that he would go to preventive security headquarters in Hebron, where he was arrested. Titi was arrested several times by the Palestinian security service; the last one was on July 27 for 22 days.
(Oct.18 – (Photographers Abdel Hafith and Nayef Hashlamoun, who are brothers, were attacked by a group of Jewish settlers in Hebron city (WB). EPA photographer Abdel Hafith Hashlamoun said that he was covering the olive harvest in Tel Rumeidah neighborhood in Hebron city, with the help of Palestinians, Israelis and international volunteers. A group of settlers came to the area, and when they saw journalists they continued to walk toward another group of olive pickers. He thought they might attack them, because there weren"t reporters there, so he headed there and began to take picture of them. When they saw him they attacked and beat him, which led to minor injuries and bruises in different parts of his body. They also attacked a British volunteer when she tried to take his camera from them. After that he was taken to the Hebron governmental hospital, where he received treatment. Reuter"s photographer Nayef Hashlamoun said that he rushed to defend his brother, but they also attacked and beat him.
(Oct.18) - Abed al-Basit Al-Razem, a former Aqsa TV correspondent, was arrested in Hebron city by the Palestinian Preventive Security Service. He said in a statement issued after his release that he went from his residence in Jerusalem city to Hebron city to attend his cousin"s wedding, where he was arrested for three days, during which he was tortured and investigated intensively.
(Oct.21) - Watan local TV crew (Reporter Mohammed Madaneyah, cameraman Ibrahim Hammad and producer Ibrahim Bedwan) were detained by the Israeli occupation forces. Madaneyah said that they went to Kofur Qadoum village (Qalqilya-WB), to cover the olive harvest, when marching towards the olive groves with the head of the village council and a number of people, a group of settlers walked near them. Shortly after their arrival they began covering the harvest in participation of international volunteers. After a short time an Israeli army patrol came and detained them and tried to confiscate the tape. They were released after about an hour and a half, during which soldiers refused requests of the people to provide them with water and tea.
(Oct.21) - Journalist Tariq Abdullah Shehab was arrested by the Palestinian intelligence service, in Tulkarem city (WB). His family said that he was summoned to the intelligence service headquarters in Tulkarem, where he was arrested. He was questioned about his relationship with Aqsa Radio, although he stopped working with it after his arrest on March 23. After that he tried to find a job for him with another media outlet, but he failed. Shehab also was arrested for three days on Jan. 5 by the Palestinian security services.
(Oct.23) - Mohammed Ishtiwi, the director of Aqsa TV office in the West Bank, was arrested in Ramallah city by the Palestinian Preventive Security Service. Ishtiwi said that he was summoned at eleven in the morning at the Ramallah compound ,and subjected to torture i three times for between two and three hours, and was unconscious during the third time, where he was fasting. He said the interrogation with him focused about Aqsa television equipment, reporters and the sources of their news. One of the officers contacted his family and asked them to bring Ishtiwi computer and personal camera belonging to his brother, and said that he would be released only if they were brought. They have responded to his request and they were confiscated. He refused to sign a pledge not to work with AqsaTV; he was released on the third day of his arrest at night.
(Oct.24) - Al -Jazeera cameraman Hasan Teeti was attacked by the Israeli occupation forces. Teeti said that he went to cover the olive harvest in Kofur Qadoum village (Qalqilya-WB), but the Israeli officer in charge asked him and other journalists not to film, using the excuse of the area being a closed military zone. He said to him that this order applies to ordinary people and does not apply to journalists. When the soldiers tried to arrest a farmer he began to film it. Then the officer ordered the soldiers to arrest him, but they pushed him away, and then the officer shouted at them to arrest him. An Israeli police officer came and told him that there was warrant against him, saying “Thus, you must come with me, or I will arrest you by force." Then a group of people and journalists gathered around them and began to ask why, during which Teeti left the place.
(Oct.31) – Agency France Press photographer Hazem Bader, Reuter photographer Yusri Jamal, and AP photographer Iyad were injured by Israeli settlers in Hebron city. Bader said that he went with other journalists to cover the damage to a Palestinian house caused by a settlers" attack during the night. After photographing the damage they stood in the house"s garden, and when settlers saw them they threw stones towards them. Bader was injured in the head. He was transferred to Al-Ahli hospital, where he received treatment, and the doctors stitched his wound (8 stitches). He left the hospital the following day in the evening. Jamal and Hamad were injured lightly in their legs.
