Palestinian Authority detains, questions two journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists
http://cpj.org/2012/04/palestinian-authority-detains-questions-two-journa.php

New York, April 3, 2012-The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the
Palestinian Authority's recent anti-press actions in which one journalist
was detained for a week for reporting on alleged corruption and spying and a
second was questioned over a critical article and his posts on social media.
These actions occurred despite the Authority's recent announcement of a
press freedom award that it claimed would reward "quality and daring
material."

"It is ironic that Palestinian leaders, who for years have benefited from
independent media coverage, should now try to stifle their own critical
journalists," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. "The Palestinian
Authority should stop muzzling journalists and scouring social media posts
looking for critics to punish."

Yousef al-Shayeb, a correspondent for the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad, was
detained by the Palestinian Authority for 48 hours on March 26 in Ramallah
and questioned over his sources for a January 30 article he wrote alleging
corruption and spying by the Palestinian diplomatic mission in France,
according to news reports. The interrogation followed a defamation complaint
filed by the Authority's foreign minister and the head of the mission that
sought $US6 million in damages under Article 189 of the Jordanian Penal
Code, which is enforced in the West Bank, according to human rights groups.
The law permits damages for libel in print media.

Al-Shayeb is also accused of defaming government officials, a charge that
can carry up to two years in prison under Article 191 of the code, according
to rights groups. Shortly after the complaint was filed, al-Shayeb was fired
from Al-Ghad, news reports said.

On March 28, Ramallah's first instance court ordered the journalist's
detention to be extended for another 15 days, news reports said. The same
day, al-Shayeb began waging a hunger strike, and the Palestinian
Journalist's Syndicate held a sit-in protest, news reports said. On April 2,
Ramallah's Magistrate Court ordered the journalist's release on bail of
10,000 Jordanian dinars (US$14,000), according to local and international
rights groups. He has not been charged yet.

Al-Shayeb's article accused Palestinian Authority deputy ambassador Safwat
Ibraghit in Paris of recruiting Arab students to spy on Islamic groups in
France and abroad, and sharing that information with both Palestinian and
foreign intelligence agencies. The journalist also accused Foreign Minister
Riyad al-Maliki, Palestinian National Fund Director Ramzi Khouri Abu Nabil,
and Palestinian Authority Ambassador in Paris Hael al-Fahoum of complicity
and nepotism in promoting Ibraghit to his post despite his ties to foreign
intelligence agencies and the complaints leveled against him, CPJ's review
of the article found. On Thursday, al-Maliki told reporters that al-Shayeb's
arrest was justified and that the journalist filed his story knowing it
"contained falsehoods," and suggested that he and the government were the
victims, news reports said.

In a separate incident, the Palestinian Authority interrogated Tariq Khamis,
a reporter for the news website Zaman Press, for three hours over his
Facebook posts about Ismat Abdel-Khalek, a university professor who was
detained on Wednesday after posting allegedly defamatory comments about
President Mahmoud Abbas and calling him a traitor," news reports said. The
journalist told the online news website Electronic Intifada on Monday that
he was also interrogated about an article he had recently published in Zaman
Press about Palestinian youth groups who were critical of the Authority and
were calling for negotiations with Israel to end.

These anti-press incidents follow the Palestinian Authority's March 27
announcement of a press freedom prize recognizing exemplary journalism. The
annual prize is intended to "support local media and encourage journalists
to compete and produce quality and daring material that addresses citizens'
concerns," the prime minister in Ramallah, Salam Fayyad, said, according to
news reports. Fayyad asked journalists to submit their work during the first
half of April, so the winner could be announced in May, the reports said.

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CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization
that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Contact:
Dahlia El Zein
Research Associate
Tel. +1.212.300.9018
Email: delzein@cpj.org