MADA welcomes the release on bail of Palestinian journalists Walid Khalid and Mohamed Mona, who were held for six days.
(MADA/IFEX) – 24 October 2012 – The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) welcomes the release of Walid Khalid, the director of the Felesteen newspaper in the West Bank, and Mohamed Mona, a correspondent for the Quds Press News Agency. Both men were released on bail on 24 October 2012. The organisation reaffirms the need to stop the detention and prosecution of journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Khalid was arrested by the Preventive Security Service on 18 September at his home in the village of Iskaka -Salfit, while Mona was arrested by the same security force apparatus on 19 September at his home in the city of Nablus. Their cases have been followed by MADA’s legal unit and the organisation demanded their release on more than one occasion.
In a separate case, MADA condemns an attack on a journalist who was attempting to cover a visit to the Gaza strip by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad al-Thani. The organisation also expresses concern over the fact that several journalists were prevented from covering the 22 October visit. Only a limited number of media officials were selected to cover the event, thus hindering other journalists from performing their professional duties. MADA views these types of situations, in which journalists in the Gaza Strip and West Bank are prevented from covering events, as media freedom violations. The organisation demands an end to these practices.
