Ramallah-23 January 2013- The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) denounces the recent violations against journalists in the Gaza Strip, ranging from arrest and summons to assault, during 21st and 22nd January 2013.
Internal security personnel in the Gaza Strip arrested four journalists: Executive Director of the Journalists’ Syndicate Munir Almunirawi, reporter for Sawt Alhureyya Juma’ Abu Shumer, Chief Editor in Palestinian Media Group Mustafa Al-Miqdad and freelamcer Ashraf Abu Khsewan. In addition, reporters from the Aswar Press website Hussein Abdel Jawad and Abdul Karim Fathi have been summoned for investigation today (23rd January 2013).
Director of Sawt Alhureyya, Amjad Arapeed told MADA that internal security arrested radio reporter Juma’ Abu Shumer on Tuesday morning. He added “a force of internal security came to the family house of Abu Shumer in Deir al-Balah, but he was not in the house where he lives in Gaza City, so they detain his family and uncle still to Abu Shumer went to the headquarters of the internal security in Gaza City. Indeed, when Juma' went to the security headquarters in Gaza, they released the family and went out of the house. He has not been charged so far and they did not explain the reason of his arrest. "
Raed Almunirawi, the brother of journalist Munir Almunirawi, told MADA of the internal security’s visit to their home in Deir al-Balah at 8pm on Monday to inform them of an arrest warrant against Munir and to search the house. Almunirawi added: "They searched the house well and they confiscated Laptop, Munir's mobile and papers concerning the work of my brother, then they arrested him and we learned that he is in the internal security headquarters in Rafah."
Supervisor of the Aswar Press website, Manal Khamis has confirmed that journalists Mustafa Meqdad and Ashraf Abu Khsewan are being held by internal security. She expressed her anxiety over the summoning of the two website reporters for investigation by security, stating: "We have been handed a summons of reporters Abdel Gawad and Fathi to go to the internal security headquarters in Ansar at nine in the morning on Wednesday. This is not the first time that our staffs were investigated because of our professional work, although we did not publish any abuse of Hamas or internal security and I'm surprising from this escalation against journalists and our site in light of the positive atmosphere of reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas."
In another incident, photographer Ashraf Abu Amra was assaulted while covering the solidarity sit-in on Sunday 20th January 2013. Abu Amra told MADA: "I received an invitation from the Popular Front political party to cover the solidarity sit-in with one prisoner of the Popular Front in French prisons in front of the French Consulate in Gaza city. During the sit-in, one of the participants came and began to laugh in front of reporters, we told him to show respect or to stay away from journalists, but he began spitting and insulting us. Then, other participants interfered and dragged him away of us. After the sit-in, he approached me and he beat me and insulting me in front of everyone". Abu Amra intends to submit a complaint to the police despite not knowing the name of the assailant. Anyway, he decided to report the incident on Tuesday.
MADA demands that the internal security immediate release the detained journalists. It stresses the need to respect freedom of opinion and expression in the Gaza Strip and to refrain from prosecuting journalists so as to allow them to work freely and safely.
