Ramallah -25/5/2011

The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) held the workshop “Freedom of expression in international legislation and the Palestinian" for journalists in Qalqilya city on Tuesday 25 May.

The session commenced with a welcome from journalist and PSJ Administrative Council member Naim Sweilem, who also thanked MADA for its efforts in organizing the workshop and called for similar activities to be held throughout the Palestinian territories.

Workshop trainer Jihad Harb introduced MADA and discussed the various activities aimed at defending journalists organized by the center,in particular the legal unit established last year. Harb proceeded by outlining the objectives of the workshop and reviewing the principles of human rights related to freedom of expression, opinion and assembly as charted in local, regional and international law. Harb placed special emphasis on the mechanisms in place for protecting journalists and their viability in the context of media freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Participants discussed the numerous serious issues surrounding media freedoms and the realities faced by journalists in the Palestinian territories throughout the course of the workshop, which concluded with the distribution of MADA’s newly published legal guide for journalists, in addition to the Center’s annual report documenting and analyzingthe media freedoms violations documented in 2010.

This workshop comes as part of a series of informative sessions for journalists held throughout the main cities of the West Bank and Gaza, designed by MADA and with the support of Foundation for the Future.

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Contact:

Aslynn Degerland-Hemadan

International Relations Officer

a.hemadan@madacenter.org

www.madacenter.org

Phone: 022976519