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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The arrest Monday of the general manager of a Bethlehem radio station contradicts Palestinian Authority commitments to free speech, a watchdog group said Tuesday.

The Ramallah-based Mada organization, which monitors violations of press freedom by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, said George Canawati's treatment called into question guarantees from public prosecutor Ahmad Barak a month earlier.

"We the public prosecutors have a moral obligation to respect freedom of expression and must not imprison journalists, and I hope that this becomes a legal obligation," Barak said in April.

The PA released Canawati on bail Tuesday after charging him with inciting sectarianism, defamation, and forgery after he published a statement attributed to Fatah's armed wing.

The al-Aqsa Brigades denied authoring the statement, which threatened the mayor of Bethlehem after police jailed Canawati's cousin. Canawati also published the denial.

Palestinian officials insist the charges are unrelated to Canawati's work as a journalist.

His attorney, however, told Mada that the Palestinian Authority's investigation seemed to be focused on exposing his sources.

Osama Abu Zakya said "big pressure was put on George to disclose the source of the press release”.

"To pressure a journalist to reveal the source of his information without a court order is completely contrary to ... the Press and Publications Law," Mada said in a statement. The law says reporters and editors are not obligated to reveal their sources unless the government obtains a court order.

The Palestinian Authority has arrested Canawati twice before. In 2011, Bethlehem's governor filed a complaint against the journalist over a report criticizing local PA medical services. A year earlier, Palestinian security forces detained Canawati for five days after he reported on internal disputes within Fatah.
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