Ref:
40/2010

The Palestinian Center for Human
Rights (PCHR) is gravely concerned regarding ongoing detention and harassment
directed against members of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip and the Hamas
movement in the West Bank; PCHR believe that these measures are conducted on
political grounds. PCHR reiterates its
call to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and security services in
Ramallah and Gaza to stop such arrests, immediately release all political
detainees, and end the practice of political detention.

In the West Bank, security services
have continued to arrest and issue summons against many Hamas members; the most
prominent of whom was professor, Mohammed Ghazal, 53, one of the movement’s
leaders in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. He was detained for several hours last week
before being released. In his testimony
to PCHR, Dr. Ghazal stated that on 19 May 2010, a force of the
Preventive Security Service (PSS) stormed his apartment, which is located in a
building in the center of Nablus. They
searched the apartment for two hours and confiscated some papers, CDs and his
laptop, and he was then taken to Jneid Prison in the city. According to Dr. Ghazal, he had stayed there
from 17:00 to 23:00, in the meanwhile was questioned on organizational
matters. He was released after signing a
statement that included his CV.

Over the past two weeks, the
Internal Security Service in the Gaza Strip has issued summons against dozens
of members of the Fatah movement, some of whom are leaders and activists in the
movement, including Dr. Fayez Abu ‘Eita, 42, the spokesperson of the Fatah movement. Dr. Abu ‘Eita was placed under house
arrest. Upon being summoned, each member
was obligated to go to the Internal Security Service’s office in his area so as
to be questioned regarding his activities in the movement. Some of them were released on the same day,
while others were kept under detention for two days.

PCHR reiterates its condemnation of
political arrests, which are often accompanied by torture or other forms of
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and:

1. Confirms that
“personal freedom is a guaranteed right” under the Palestinian basic
law, which states that it is prohibited to “apprehend, search, imprison,
or restrict the freedom, or prevent the movement of any person unless by a
judicial order,” in addition, “a person who is apprehended or
detained must be informed of the reasons for his apprehension or
detention.”;

2. Reminds of the
Palestinian Supreme Court of Justice ruling on 20 February 1999, which
emphasized the illegality of political detention and that all executive bodies
should respect the Court ruling and stop practicing political arrests;

3. Emphasizes that
detention is governed by the Palestinian law and lies within the competence of
judicial warranty officers represented in the civil police, whose work lies
under direct orders and supervision of the Attorney-General; and

4. Calls for immediate
release of all political prisoners detained by the Palestinian security
services in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.