The Palestinian Authority has charged a pro-Hamas journalist for “insulting” Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Facebook, implying that the Fatah leader is a traitor.
The journalist works for the Al Quds television station, which is sympathetic to Hamas. The reporter, Mamdouh Hamamreh, was arrested several months ago after he placed a picture of Abbas next to an image of a Syrian actor who acted as a spy on an Arab television program. The photo montage implied that Abbas is a traitor.
The journalist denies that he posted the pictures. He told the Associated Press that his first court hearing is scheduled for next month.
The news agency reported that the charges against the journalist, who was released after 50 days in detention, raises concerns about freedom of expression in the Palestinian Authority, which is strongly backed by the United States and the European Union. In another case of apparent oppression by the Fatah-ruled PA, it militia and police forces arrested a blogger two months ago for posting comments against Islam.
A separate report last week by a British-Arab group accused the Palestinian Authority of widespread torture.
The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain stated,"It is clear that the Palestinian security services have been using torture on a wide and systematic basis for several years using… hanging of all kinds, beating with cables, pulling out nails, suspension from the ceiling, flogging, kicking, swearing and cursing, electric shocks, sexual harassment and the threat of rape.”
It charged that PA torture centers have killed at least six Arabs from Ramallah, Hevron and Shechem and that many others have suffered permanent disabilities.
The organization reported that “an astonishing 95 percent of the detainees were subjected to severe torture, others feeling the detrimental effects on their health for varying periods.
“There is no sanctity for the house, university or school; even hospitals are violated. Raids with personnel wearing civilian and military clothing take place in the middle of the night; citizens are abducted from their places of work or study in broad daylight. Arrests themselves are harsh and often accompanied by verbal insults and physical beatings; detainees’ homes are ransacked and all too often valuables are stolen by the security forces."