Palestinian Authority begins US “Security Partner” style crackdown on Journalist and Activists

Dozens of journalists, activists arrested as PA cracks down on dissent
Jillian Kestler-D’Amours – The Electronic Intifada – 1 May 2012

JERUSALEM (IPS) – The Palestinian Authority’s arrest of journalists and activists critical of its policies are threatening freedom of expression in the West Bank, according to local human rights groups.

“We monitored a new trend of arresting people and journalists and the oppression of freedom of expression,” Shawan Jabarin, director of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, said. “There are many people I’m sure that are afraid and will count to ten before they say anything. Maybe they’ll push people to speak underground instead of expressing their opinions freely.”

In the most recent case, the Palestinian Authority security forces summoned 23-year-old Hasan Abbadi for interrogation near his home in the West Bank village Sebastia, in the Nablus area. Abbadi, a student at An-Najah University, was accused of “creating disunity” through his political cartoons.

He spent some days in jail, before being released on 3,000 Jordanian dinars ($4,200) bail, and is currently awaiting trial.
Failure to protect freedom

“I think they’re using different words here and there, just to undermine these people in the eyes of the public and to say that they are creating trouble and creating divisions. It’s a political judgement more than [anything] illegal,” said Jabarin.

Jabarin said most charges leveled against Palestinian journalists are based on the Jordanian Penal Code, dating back to 1960. Palestinian attorney general Ahmad al-Maghni has failed to protect Palestinian freedoms in the West Bank and should be held responsible for the arrests, he added.

“Al-Maghni’s role is to protect the freedoms and the rights of the people in the face of arbitrary detention, instead of arresting people. Here, we see him acting quickly and exaggerating with all of these [charges]. And at the same time, he’s closing his ears and his eyes on the crimes going on,” Jabarin said.

“He is not taking into his mind that the law that he is using was approved in 1960 and these days, we are in 2012 and the main principle now in all the world is freedom of expression.” …more