(IPI/IFEX) – In a 31 May 2000 letter to President Yasser Arafat, IPI strongly condemned the arrest of Fatih Barqawi, news director at the state radio station Voice of Palestine, and the suspension of the Al-Nasr television station and the Al-Manara radio station in Ramallah. According to IPIâs sources, Barqawi was arrested on 28 May, […]
(IPI/IFEX) – In a 31 May 2000 letter to President Yasser Arafat, IPI strongly condemned the arrest of Fatih Barqawi, news director at the state radio station Voice of Palestine, and the suspension of the Al-Nasr television station and the Al-Manara radio station in Ramallah.
According to IPIâs sources, Barqawi was arrested on 28 May, apparently for broadcasting criticism of the Palestinian National Authority and its chairman during one of its news programmes. The arrest is the latest in a series of violations of freedom of expression, which includes the arrest of the Palestinian Legislative Council delegate, Hassan Khureische, the latter apparently for “insulting” President Arafat on a recent television show. During the previous week the television station Wattan was taken off the air for three days and its manager, Omar Nazzal, was arrested. His release was only secured after intense lobbying by journalist groups (see IFEX alerts of 29 and 17 May 2000).
IPI is informed that the stations Al-Nasr and Al-Manara were closed because they had broadcast proceedings of a seminar attended by individuals who had signed the “20-Statement”, which accused some Palestinian National Authority officials of corruption.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– stating that you regard the incarceration of journalists and the suspension of media outlets as gross violations of everyone’s right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” as guaranteed by Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– urging His Excellency to ensure that Barqawi is released immediately and unconditionally
– further urging him to ensure that Al-Nasr and Al-Manara are allowed to resume broadcasting immediately and that Palestine’s journalists are allowed to carry out their profession without further harassment
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
His Excellency Yasser Arafat
President
Palestinian National Authority
Fax: +972 7 821 672
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
