Ramallah – 26th February 2013: Palestinian center for Development and Media Freedoms expresses its concern for the life of Palestinian Cartoonist Mohamed Fayeq Sabaana (34 years old) and demands his release. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) detained Sabaana on 16thFebruary 2013 while returning from Jordan at Karameh border crossing.
The IOF transferred Sabaana to askalan Prison yesterday 25th February 2013, and has not been allowed visits from lawyers nor family members since detained ten days ago. His Brother Adel Sabaana reported to MADA that they have no information on his brother’s status, and he said, “We think he was detained for his cartoon drawings, he always traveled freely and never been detained”.
On Sunday, the Sabaana family issued a statement appealing to all official institutions and local and international human rights to intervene rapidly to detect Sabaana’s status, visit him, and check on his well-being. This came in the wake of the death of Palestinian detainee Arafat Jaradat (30 years old) in the Israeli Majdo prison on 23rd of February 2013.
MADA organized, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and the Journalists Syndicate,a protest on the morning of Wednesday 20th February 2013 at the Ofar prison near Ramallah, objecting to the IOF policy of detaining Journalists and demanding their release. The protest took place during the trial of Mohamed Sabaana AND Amer Abu Arafa.
As some international institutions concerned with freedom of opinion and expression joined the solidarity with Sabaana, condemned his arrest, and demanded his release, including the International Federation of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Sabaana is well known for his cartoon drawings which critic the practices of the occupation against the Palestinian citizens and are critical of the internal Palestinian situation and Palestinian community issues. He also won numerous local and Arab awards on his drawings; he also participated in international exhibitions, most recently at the British Atlantic University in the month of January 2013.
