Ref:
62/2011

The
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns measures taken by the
government in Ramallah against activities organized by the Hizb ut Tahrir
(the Islamic Liberation Party).  PCHR
also condemns the mistreatment of dozens of Palestinians by security officers
yesterday. The mistreatment included arrests, beatings and opening fire. PCHR
stresses that the right to peaceful assembly is ensured under the Palestinian
Basic Law and international human rights instruments.

According
to investigations conducted by PCHR, Palestinian security services in the West Bank imposed restrictions on demonstrations
organized by the Hizb ut Tahrir commemorating “the 90th anniversary
of the collapse of the Muslim Caliphate.” Dozens of activists and members
of the Hizb ut Tahrir were beaten, arrested or held by security members
in Hebron, Tulkarm, Nablus and Ramallah.

In Hebron, more than 20 Palestinians
were injured because they were violently beaten by security officers and others
suffered from tear gas inhalation during the dispersal of a peaceful
demonstration organized by Hizb ut Tahrir supporters on Saturday
afternoon, 02 July 2011.  According to
eyewitnesses and victims, after the Asr (the afternoon) Prayer, hundreds of
supporters of the Hizb ut Tahrir organized a peaceful demonstration
starting from Sheikh Ali al-Bakkaa Mosque towards Bab al-Zawya Square and
nearby streets.  The demonstrators were
surrounded by large forces from the Palestinian police backed by forces from
the National Security Service.  The security
forces stopped the demonstration.  Without
prior warning, they dispersed the peaceful demonstration by firing tear gas
canisters directly at the demonstrators.  They also chased the demonstrators through the
streets and beat some of them.  Some of
the demonstrators scuffled with the police members resulting in dozens of arrests.
 Twenty demonstrators,[1]
bystanders and owners of shops, including old persons and children, sustained
wounds and bruises. The wounded were transferred by ambulances belonging to the
Palestine Red Crescent Society to Hebron
Hospital and other
medical centers.

In Nablus, a large demonstration started after the Asr Prayer
from the Great Mosque in the old city of Nablus.
 The demonstration was organized by
members of the Hizb ut Tahrir. The marchers walked towards the center of
Nablus carrying
black flags and chanting slogans against the Arab regimes. When the
demonstrators were approximately 50 meters from the Great Mosque, a number of
persons in civilian clothes who were among the demonstrators started to push
some of the demonstrators and violently beat them.  Two other people stood in front of the demonstration
and opened fire into the air.  Because of
the rapidly deteriorating situation a large number of the demonstrators left
the scene.  The rest of the demonstrators
continued walking and the two persons who had the pistols opened fire at the
demonstrators’ legs.  As a result, 6
demonstrators were wounded and were transferred to hospitals. After dispersing
the demonstration, security forces arrested one person.

In
Tulkarm, a demonstration organized by the Hizb ut Tahrir after the Asr Prayer
started from Uthman Bin Affan Mosque to Jamal Abdul Nasser Square.  One of the demonstrators was giving a speech
when he was attacked by 4 members of the civil police who demanded that he stop
his speech, and the police then quarreled with his colleagues.  The demonstrators ended the demonstration and
the security services, backed with additional forces, arrested a number of the
members of the Hizb ut Tahrir.

In
Ramallah, at approximately 08:30 on Saturday morning, Palestinian security
services erected checkpoints near all the entrances of Ramallah. They checked
passengers’ ID cards and cars and arrested persons suspected of being members
of the Hizb ut Tahrir preventing them from entering Ramallah to
participate in the demonstration scheduled by the Party.  At approximately 14:30, approximately 100
members of the Hizb ut Tahrir gathered near Urabi crossroads in the
south of Ramallah.   They carried the Party’s flags and chanted
slogans.  Large forces from the police
and other security services surrounded them and prevented them from walking to
the center of Ramallah.  The security forces
fired into the air to disperse the demonstration.  They beat the demonstrators and dozens of
demonstrators sustained wounds and bruises.  In the same context, security forces used force
to prevent the organization of a demonstration of the Hizb ut Tahrir in
the center of Ramallah. They arrested 170 members of the Hizb ut Tahrir
who did manage to enter Ramallah.

PCHR
strongly condemns the restrictions imposed by the government in Ramallah on the
activities of the Hizb ut Tahrir, and:

1. Strongly condemns the acts of security forces to prevent of the
organization to their right to have public and private peaceful assemblies, and
the use of force to disperse demonstrations.  PCHR stresses that civilians have the legal
right to organize public assemblies and to organize peaceful demonstrations in
accordance with the law.

2. Emphasizes that the police have no right reject any public meeting,
peaceful demonstrations, or any other type of peaceful assembly, and that the
law provides that organizers should only “inform” the governor or
police, as the police has the right to take measures to “organize the
traffic.”

3. Reiterates that the right to peaceful assembly is ensured under the
Palestinian Basic Law and by international human rights instruments.