Every year, 3rd of May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
This year, an analysis by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is indicative of a climate of fear and tension combined with increasing control over newsrooms by governments and private-sector interests.
Following this trend, a day before the World Press Freedom Day, the Palestinian journalist Hasan Safadi was arrested by the Israeli Military Forces while another one, Omar Nazzal, who was in custody since Saturday 23rd of April, received a four-month order for administrative detention “a procedure that allows the Israeli military to hold prisoners indefinitely on secret information without charging them or allowing them to stand trial”.
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association reports that the journalist and Human Rights Defender Hasan Safadi, was arrested while he was crossing Allenby Bridge on Monday 1st of May where he was detained and then transferred to Al Moskobiyyeh Interrogation Center (situated in West Jerusalem); violating International law which prohibits the transfer of detainees outside of occupied territory.
During yesterday’s hearing , the Magistrate Court in Jerusalem decided to extend the detention period for one additional week for interrogation.
According to the online newspaper +972, Omar Nazzal, journalist and a member of the board of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, was arrested before crossing the same bridge into Jordan while he was en route to a conference held by the European Federation of journalists in Sarajevo.
Israel’s Shin Bet security service said Omar Nazzal, 53 was detained because of “his involvement in terror group activities”. They also claimed that he is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which Israel consider as a terrorist organization. Nazzal already suffered the ban from going abroad, a restriction he has been attempting to lift for more than a year.
Nazzal’s lawyer, Mahmoud Hassan denied his client was linked to violence. “This arrest is a political arrest,” the lawyer said.
This are just the last two cases of indiscriminate violations against press freedom in Palestine. Since last November, Israel is sistematically targeting Palestinian Journalists and media agencies and according to a statement done by MADA – Palestinian center for Development & Media Freedom, the first four months of 2016 did not carry any positive progress. As stated by the New York-based Committee to support Palestinian Journalist, Israel has deteined 43 journalists in the occupied Palestinian territory since October 2015, including two foreign reporters. At the moment there are still 19 Palestinian journalists and students of journalism held in Israeli prisons , among which there is the journalist Mohammed Al-Qiq, who is held in administrative detention since November 21 and will be release on June 21, after his remand was shortened due to his hunger strike that lasted 93 days.
In order to raise awarness on the Israeli crimes against journalists, the PCHR- Palestinian Center for Human Rights, together with a group of bloggers from inside the Gaza Strip and abroad have launched a campaign titled “No to Silencing the Press.” with the two hashtags #إخراس الصحافة and #SilencePress.
