Press Release

PCHR files a complaint against Al Nashara Monthly Magazine and its Editing Director in response to the publication of defamatory statements.

Date: 8/2/2000

Ref: 18/2000

Today PCHR filed a complaint with the Attorney General against Al Nashara Monthly and its editing director Khalil El Zibin. The complaint followed defamatory statements published against the Centre. This is the third time that the Centre has filed such a complaint, the previous complaints were filed on 12 November 1996 and 27 June 1999. The most recent complaint explained that El Zibin continues, through his magazine El Nashara, to publish false and defamatory statements and accusations without being held accountable or punished according to law.

Over the last three years, the Palestinian Attorney General failed to take action against Al Nashara and its editing director. This failure, in fact, encouraged him to escalate his defamation of PCHR.

In its most recent issue of January 2000, Al Nashara magazine continued its defamation of PCHR. In the magazine, it was stated that PCHR’s Director “took a number of financial and administrative decisions in the New Year, amongst which were significantly increasing the salaries of the Director and members of the Administrative Board.” The magazine added that amongst the administrative decisions taken was “a decision to force the members in the administrative board who are refugees to resign from the Centre, with the aim of keeping ethnic purity.”

The complaint stated that publishing this false statement with the aim of defaming is a punishable crime according to articles 201, 203, 204 and 208 of the Penalty Law No. 74 of 1936. The statements published by Al Nashara magazine and its editing director Khalil El Zibin, in addition to constituting defamation, touch on a very sensitive issue in Palestinian society, one which has been asserted by the Palestinian leadership on many occasions to be taboo. The complaint noted that the magazine and its editing director are trying to incite hatred between what the magazine calls “the original and non-original inhabitants of the Gaza Strip”. The complaint asserted that this is a dangerous matter, which has the potential to negatively influence the unity of the Palestinian people. As such it is a matter against which the Palestinian Authority must take a strong stance.

PCHR based its complaint on the assertion of the rule of law and the requirement that the Palestinian judiciary takes its role in holding accountable anyone who defies the law and practices defamation. The Centre expressed, in the complaint, its hope that the law will be enforced and that the Attorney General will investigate the complaints, and bring those responsible for the crime to trial before the court. Moreover, the Centre expressed its full confidence that the Attorney General fulfil his role to defend the reputation of citizens and to take a strong stance against anyone who tries to bring a citizen’s reputation and their commitment to the country under suspicion.

For More Information Contact:

Palestinian Center for Human Right

Tel/Fax (+) 9727 2824776/2823725

E-mail: [email protected]

The following letter was sent by Issam Younis, Director of Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, to Khalil El Zibin, Editing Director of Al Nashara magazine, on 8 February 2000.

 

“Dear Mr Editing Director,

In accordance with the provisions of the Palestinian Press Law of 1995, I hereby request the publication of the following statement in the next issue of your monthly magazine Al Nashara. These clarifications are my personal reflections on the claims and falsifications published by Al Nashara in its most recent issue of January 2000. As Al Nashara published inflammatory and falsified information that related to me personally, I reserve my full right for legal actions in accordance with the law, and following are my clarifications regarding what was published.

1. Al Nashara claimed that I was forced to resign from the Administrative Board of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. I do not know on what Al Nashara based these claims. In fact, I submitted my resignation freely from the Administrative Board of PCHR and ended my work at PCHR in order to work as the Director of Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, a newly established non-governmental organisation in the Gaza Strip. This decision was blessed and approved by the Administrative Board of PCHR, as they believe that my new role at Al Mezan will support the work of PCHR and the Palestinian human rights movement in general, the ultimate aim of which is to continually increase the service provided to the community.

The claim that I was forced from the administration of PCHR is a lie so ludicrous that it cannot be taken seriously. However, what is serious, is your claim that administrative measures were taken by PCHR’s Administrative Board to force the resignation of one of its members from what you described as “the non-indigenous population” in order to “guarantee the purity of ethnicity, race and colour”. This wording is clearly intended by Al Nashara to allude to the issue of Palestinian refugees and original inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. This is, in fact, a dangerous attempt to inflame an issue which is considered a threat to the national unity of the Palestinian people.

To be clear, my resignation from the Board of PCHR was a very personal matter, once again, blessed and approved by all my colleagues at PCHR. It is clearly unacceptable for any person whomsoever to exploit or misinterpret this decision, for whatever purposes. For me personally, the decision to resign from PCHR was not easy, since I was a founding member and contributed along with my colleagues to building this institution. I am very proud of PCHR’s achievements, which have inspired all those working in the human rights community. I reiterate that I was not forced to resign, on the contrary, my decision was difficult and I appreciate the cooperation and understanding from the administration of PCHR and all of my colleagues for my personal choice.

Al Nashara’s claims and lies cannot be tolerated. Al Nashara also claimed that my former colleague in the PCHR administrative Board, Mazen Shaqqura, was forced to resign. Of course it is preferable that Mazen himself respond to this claim. But since he is currently abroad for graduate study I would like to clarify that he was not forced to resign either. He submitted his resignation two years ago for the simple reason that was he taking up a post at the United Nations High Commissioner’s office in the Gaza Strip, a post which required that he have no legal ties with any local organisations.

2. I was very surprised by the manner in which you attempted to exploit the issue of my resignation from PCHR. I note that in this most recent publication I was described in terms denoting respect, however I recall that the managing director of Al Nashara himself was interviewed by the daily Al Hayat Al Jadida on June 24 1999. At that time he accused me and my colleagues at PCHR of earning hundreds of thousands of dollars, and of earning $300 an hour for human rights training. This shift in attitude is intriguing, a few months ago I was a thief, and now I am a hero. In fact, this needs no further comment.
3. Al Nashara claimed that, in view of the increased funding of PCHR at the end of 1999, its director made several decisions in the New Year, including a drastic increase in the salaries of the administrative board members. Once again this claim is reprehensible and relates to me personally. Until January 31 2000, I was a member of the Administrative Board of PCHR. In response to your falsified claims I refer you to PCHR’s financial and auditing reports, which are published annually and available to all, including the concerned bodies in the PA, to which PCHR is held accountable, and to which PCHR and all of its activities are transparent. I believe that the falsifications published in the most recent issue of your magazine and in several previous issues are simply aimed at attacking the human rights movement and civil society in Palestine, of which I am very proud to be a member.

Issam Younis

Director

Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights

Tel: 2453555

Fax: 2453554

E-mail: [email protected]