Ref: 09/2010

The
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns continued harassment of
journalists in the West Bank, which constitutes an assault on the freedom of
opinion and expression and press freedoms. PCHR is particularly concerned over an imprisonment sentence issued by a
military court in Nablus against journalist Tariq Abu Zaid, a civilian person, for
charges of “undermining the status of the authority and resisting the
public policy of the Palestinian Authority.” PCHR repeats its calls for not pushing
journalists into the ongoing conflict between Fatah and Hamas movements, for
releasing all detained journalists and for respecting the constitutional
mandate of the Palestinian judiciary. 

According
to investigations conducted by PCHR, on 16 February 2010, a special military
court in Nablus, chaired by Brigadier ‘Abdul Karim al-Masri, in the presence of
the Military Attorney-General, Rami Taqateq; the Military Prosecutor, Captain
Nayef Mashaqi; the defendant’s lawyer, Reema al-Sayed, sentenced journalist
Tariq ‘Abdul Raziq Abu Zaid, 35, from Jenin, to one year and a half in
prison. The court accused Abu Zaid of
“undermining the status of the authority in violation of article 164a and
b, and resisting the public policy of the Palestinian Authority in violation of
article 179 of the Palestine Liberation Organization Revolutionary Penal Code
of 1979. Abu Zaid is the correspondent
of al-Aqsa Television of Hamas, and was arrested by the Palestinian Military
Intelligence Service on 15 August 2009. The Palestinian High Court of Justice ordered his immediate release on
12 January 2010, but the court ruling has not been implemented.

PCHR
notes that there are a number of journalists who have been detained by
Palestinian security services; they are:

· Mustafa ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Sabri, 43, from Qalqilya

He
has been arrested by Palestinian security services several times, the latest of
which was on 05 January 2010 by the Preventive Security Service (PSS). His detention was extended by the district
court, which rejected requests to order his release. He has been detained in Qalqilya police
station, accused of forming a military cell. Sabri was an elected member of the municipal council of Qalqilya and the
spokesman of the Change and Reform Bloc of Hamas in the Palestinian Legislative
Council. He also used to work as a
correspondent of the Gaza- based
al-Resala newspaper. The Palestinian
High Court of Justice ordered his release each time he was arrested, but he was
re-arrested following the implementation of court rulings. 

· Yazeed Ahmed Mahmoud Khader, 45, from Deir al-Ghossoun
village north of Tulkarm

He
used to work as a journalist in the Ministry of Information, but he was
dismissed when he was arrested on 28 November 2009 by the PSS. His case was referred to the
Attorney-General. He has been detained
for charges of forming a military cell. 

· Ma’ath Mousa Mash’al, 24, from Silwad village northeast of
Ramallah

He
was summoned by the General Intelligence Service on 13 February 2010, and has
been detained since then. He is a
student of journalism in an-Najah National University. 

In
light of the above, PCHR:

1) Stresses that journalist Abu Zaid is a civilian person, so
it is not of the mandate of the military judiciary to consider his case;

2) Calls upon the Palestinian National Authority to stop the
application of the Palestine Liberation Organization Revolutionary Penal Code
of 1979;

3) Expresses concerns over repeated assaults on the right to
freedom of expression and press freedoms, and stresses the need to provide
protection for journalists and mass media, and to take all necessary measures
to allow them to work freely;

4) Emphasizes that the right to freedom of opinion and
expression is ensured under the Palestinian Basic Law and international human
rights instruments.

5) Calls upon security services of both governments in Ramallah
and Gaza not to push journalists into the ongoing political conflict; and

6) Reminds of the Palestinian High Court of Justice ruling on
20 February 1999, which prohibits political arrests, and calls upon all
executive bodies to respect its and abstain from practicing illegal political
arrests.