Ref: 19/2011
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly
condemns attacks by persons wearing civilian clothes and carrying sticks and
clubs on students inside the campuses of al-Azhar University and al-Quds Open
University yesterday, which were accompanied by raids by the police and
security officers into the two campuses. PCHR condemns also detention of a number of young men who organized a
set-in near the ICRC office by the Internal Security Service. PCHR calls upon the government in Gaza to
seriously investigate these attacks, which recurred by civilian person; to
bring them to justice; and to respect the sanctity of universities, the right
to peaceful assembly and press freedoms, which are ensured under the
constitution and international human rights instruments.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR
and eyewitnesses’ accounts, at approximately 10:00 on Wednesday, 16 March 2011,
hundreds of students gathered on the main yard of al-Azhar University in the
west of Gaza City, raising Palestinian flags and articulating calls for ending
political division in the Palestinian Authority. At approximately 11:50, many persons wearing
civilian clothes and carrying sticks and clubs broke into the campus and
indiscriminately beat and insulted students. Dozens of students sustained bruises, and a number of them sustained
fractures to the limbs.[1]
After the students had been dispersed, many of them got out of the
university. The Palestinian police
arrived at the area and evacuated the vicinity of the campus. They also broke into the campus and chased a
staff member. The police remained inside
the campus until 14:45.
In the same context, security officers
prevented 3 media crews from covering these events:
1) Al-Jazeera
English Channel;
2) Al-Arabiya
Satellite Channel; and
3) Reuters News
Agency.
It is worth noting that Dr. Abdul Khaliq
al-Farra, President of al-Azhar University, had received phone calls on
Tuesday, 15 March 2011, from security services demanding him to close the
university for three days. Dr. al-Farra
stated to a PCHR field worker that he received phone calls from the police
operations department, universities security department and the Internal
Security Service, demanding him to close the university for three days, and
holding him responsible for any gatherings in the university and consequent events.
At approximately 12:00 also on Wednesday, a
number of young men gathered in front of the ICRC office in al-Jalaa’ Street in
the north of Gaza City, calling for ending political divisions and ensuring
their right to peaceful assembly. Immediately, two vehicles arrived at the area. Six armed persons, including two ones wearing
military uniform, stepped down and arrested 13 young men. The detainees were taken to the Internal
Security Service department in Ansar security compound, where they were
interrogated about their participation in gatherings calling for an end of
political division. They were also
forced to sign an oath not to participate in any gathering that is not licensed
by the government in Gaza, and they were released in the evening. One of them
told a PCHR field worker that he was beaten by Internal Security Service
officers, and he was subjected to methods of torture during interrogation.[2]
In the same context, at approximately 13:30,
many persons wearing civilian clothes and carrying sticks, clubs and firearms,
and police officers broke into the campus of al-Quds Open University in
al-Nasser neighborhood in the northwest of Gaza City. They violently beat and chased students
inside the campus. Many students
sustained bruises and fractures throughout the body.
In his testimony to PCHR, a student stated:
“I got out of the campus after persons
wearing civilian clothes had attacked us inside the campus. When I was walking near the campus, a white
mini bus stopped near me. A number of
persons stepped down from the bus, violently beat me and pushed me into the
bus. The bus stopped on a branch road
behind al-Nasser Hospital. They took me
out of the bus and violently beat me, focusing on my legs and knees. They then took me into the bus again and
dumped me near the university. I was
taken to a hospital in Jabalya as I sustained a fracture to the left knee and a
bruise to the right one.”
PCHR strongly condemns these events, including
the raids on the campuses of al-Azhar University and al-Quds Open University,
beating students and detention of participants in a sit-in, and:
