The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) strongly condemns the attack on the journalist Mohamed Nassar presenter of the Morning program "simply" in Sawt Alghad radio in the city of Ramallah, and the detention of journalist Seif al-Din Shahin in Gaza City.

Sound engineer in Sawt Alghad  “Voice of Tomorrow” Yazan Ghazi told MADA center that he coordinated  with one of the officials to speak during the program "simply" about  Youth Week events this morning. When he contacted his assistant , he gave the phone to someone else to talk on the air, Ghazi added: "I contacted the assistant once again to talk with his boss, he shouted at me and closed the line." When Ghazi told the program presenter Mohamed Nassar about that he said on the air: "Thanks to the assistant for  his behavior."

After 15 minutes of the end of the program, the assistant  brother came  accompanied with two men  in a car carrying a yellow registration plate to the radio station and asked to talk with Nassar, then he asked him to go down with them to the outside of the building, there they  beat him severely.

Ghazi said : "I have tried to intervene, as well as the radio crew, but they expelled everyone. During that time another car came  and got out a big man he check hands with the attackers, but did not intervene. We transferred Nassar to the hospital, and he filed a complaint to the police."

In the Gaza Strip, the police detained yesterday reporter Seif al-Din Shaheen because of his coverage of peaceful women  gathering that demanded ending of the political split between Hamas and Fatah. Shaheen told MADA that  he went yesterday (11/13/2012) to the Square of the Unknown Soldier in Gaza City to cover a women gathering demanded an end to the division, and after he end of the activity, a group of armed men in civilian clothes, followed him  and took him to the police station. He added: "they detained me in a cell for an hour and a half and there was other detainees, despite the existence of orders to vacate the police headquarters because of the Israeli occupation forces threats to attack more targets in the Gaza Strip. I  asked about the reason of my  detention, they told me that the gathering that you covered is illegal, I told them that I'm not one of the organizers, but they did not listen to me. " He was released after about an hour and a half.

MADA demands an end to attacks on journalists and enable them to perform their work freely and safely, and demands to investigate the attack on Nassar and bring the perpetrators to justice.