Ref: 53/2012
Date: 9 May 2012
Time: 09:40 GMT
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the prevention of the al-Quds satellite channel’s crew from carrying out their work at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and their detention by the security officers of Shifa Hospital on Monday, 07 May 2012. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian police in Gaza to respect the press freedom and the freedom of opinion and expression which are ensured under the Palestinian Basic Law and relevant international standards.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR and the testimony of Rami Abu Shammalah, a cameraman, at approximately 10:00, on Monday, 07 May 2012, al-Quds satellite channel’s crew comprised of Hanadi Nasrallah, a reporter, Rami Abu Shammalah, a cameraman, and Yusef al-Telbani, a sound technician, was denied entry into Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The crew went to the hospital to report on the health conditions of the mother of Rami Barbakh, a Palestinian prisoner detained in Israeli jails. The mother was hospitalized as a result of starting a hunger strike in solidarity with her son. Abu Shammalah said that once they started to film the admission of the mother to the hospital in order to receive necessary medical treatment, two security officers came, began to shout at them, and pulled them out of the place. Then four police officers arrived at the scene. Abu Shammalah told them that he had stopped filming and would leave the hospital. However, the police officer refused to let them go and detained the whole crew in one of the security rooms. The director of Al-Quds channel’s office came to the hospital in an attempt to have the crew released, upon which the police officers told him that the crew did not have a permit for filming. The director replied that al-Quds channel had obtained a permit for filming from the Ministry of Interior which allows its crews to film everywhere. He also requested the police officers to release the crew, but they refused to do so. The director left and after a while the Public Relations Officer of the hospital intervened and arranged the crew’s release. The police officers also obstructed the work of another crew from al-Quds channel comprised of Mohammed al-Akhras, a cameraman, and Mahmoud Abu Seedo, a producer, when they were trying to interview Rawhi Moshtaha, an ex-prisoner who was admitted into Shifa Hospital. Moshtaha’s health conditions deteriorated because of the hunger strike he started in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
PCHR denounces the detention of al-Quds channel’s crew and their prevention from carrying out their work, and:
