(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ has expressed its deep concern about the arrest of Maher al-Dessouki, a television journalist with the independent Al-Quds Educational TV station. **Updates IFEX alert of 17 September 1999** On the morning of 15 September 1999, Palestinian Preventive Security Services (PSS) agents arrested al-Dessouki in the West Bank city of Ramallah. According to […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ has expressed its deep concern about the arrest of Maher
al-Dessouki, a television journalist with the independent Al-Quds
Educational TV station.
**Updates IFEX alert of 17 September 1999**
On the morning of 15 September 1999, Palestinian Preventive Security
Services (PSS) agents arrested al-Dessouki in the West Bank city of
Ramallah. According to the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Society for the
Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), he was accused by
Palestinian authorities of “possessing material inciting against the PNA.”
To date, Palestinian security officials have failed to provide any details
about the reasons for al-Dessouki’s arrest. Responding to questions about
whether al-Dessouki had been arrested in response to his journalistic work,
PSS chief Jabril Rajoub told Reuters that the journalist had been arrested
for “dangerous security reasons related to the general security situation.”
Al-Dessouki has reportedly been denied access to legal counsel.
Some Palestinian journalists suspect that the arrest came in response to the
Sunday 12 September edition of a weekly program al-Dessouki hosts on Al-Quds
Educational TV. In the broadcast, al-Dessouki conducted live interviews with
Palestinians whose family members were not included in the previous week’s
prisoner release by Israel. The mother of one prisoner criticised President
Yasser Arafat sharply on air.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
unless it can be shown that he has committed a criminal offence recognizable
under international law
Authority to release the specific charges against him and guarantee his
right to due process, including access to legal counsel
Appeals To
His Excellency Yasser Arafat
President
Palestinian National Authority
Al-Muntada, Gaza
Fax: + 972 7 282 2365/6
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