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by
Bassam Tawil • January 26, 2018 at 5:00 am
- The
five journalists were arrested shortly after Palestinian Authority
(PA) President Mahmoud Abbas signed the controversial cyber-crime
law in June 2017. Critics say the new law is aimed at silencing
and intimidating journalists and political opponents of the PA and
its president.
- Ammar
Dweik, head of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human
Rights, said the new law is "one of the worst" since the
PA was established in 1994.
- The
Palestinian Authority claims it does not tolerate
"incitement." The "incitement" it is referring
to, however, is criticism of Abbas and his cronies. In fact, the
PA tolerates incitement quite well, and has spent decades driving
such incitement -- when it is directed against Israel and the US.
Indeed, Palestinians are free to incite against Israel and the US
day and night.
Palestinian journalists protest in
Nablus to demand that the Palestinian Authority release their
colleague, Tareq Abu Zeid, on June 24, 2016. (Image source: Al Resalah)
Palestinian journalists have decided to renew their
campaign against the Palestinian Authority's assault on freedom of
expression.
The decision came after the Palestinian Authority (PA)
filed charges against journalist Tareq Abu Zeid, for
"incitement" and "jeopardizing the security of the State
of Palestine."
Abu Zeid is the latest victim of a new Palestinian law
targeting journalists and social media activists.
Earlier this week, a Palestinian magistrate's court in
Nablus, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, decided to refer
the case of Abu Zeid to the PA's Grand Criminal Court. Abu Zeid, who
was arrested in August 2017 for 15 days, is facing charges over
Facebook posts criticizing the Palestinian Authority. If convicted, he
faces a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a fine.
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