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Photo:
Farid al-Atrash, left, and Issa Amro at Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank on March 26, 2017. (HRW) Published by Maan News

Palestinian nonviolent activist Issa Amro. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org) Published by 973Mag
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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Palestinian security forces detained prominent human rights activist Issa Amro on Monday, a day after he posted comments on his Facebook criticizing Palestinian forces for arresting a journalist who also criticized the Palestinian Authority (PA). 

The two joined a number of Palestinians who have been detained for voicing their opinions since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a a far-reaching Cyber Crimes Law in June that has been widely denounced by human rights groups.

Ayman Qawasmeh, the director of the Hebron-based radio station Manbar al-Hurriya, was detained by the PA on Sunday, three days after the radio station’s offices were raided and shut down by the Israeli army.

Local media reports said Qawsmeh’s arrest came after he called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to resign.

In a Facebook post Sunday evening, Amro, a Hebron-based coordinator for Youth Against Settlements and a former field researcher for the Israeli NGO B’Tselem, criticized the PA for arresting Qawsmeh and stifling freedom of expression.

Palestinian forces arrested Amro midday Monday. The human rights activist is known for advocating non-violent resistance and is facing charges in Israeli military court related to his activism.

Amnesty International called Amro’s arrest by the PA “a shameless attack on freedom of expression.”

“It is outrageous that a prominent human rights defender has been arrested simply for voicing his opinion online. Criticizing the authorities should not be a criminal offence. Issa Amro’s arrest is the latest evidence that the Palestinian authorities are determined to continue with their repressive campaign against free speech,” Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International’s Middle East director, said.

“We have seen an alarming escalation in the Palestinian authorities’ clampdown on freedom of expression in recent months. Instead of continuing to step up their efforts to quash dissenting voices, the Palestinian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Issa Amro and stop harassing and intimidating activists and others for daring to speak their minds freely.”

The human rights organization has highlighted “a chilling escalation in attacks on media and freedom of expression by both the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Hamas de facto administration in Gaza, detaining a string of journalists and shutting down opposition websites.”

The PA’s new Cyber Crimes Law, issued by presidential decree in June, has been described by rights groups as “draconian” and “the worst law in the PA’s history,” for imposing jail time, hard labor, and fines for creating, publishing, and sharing information deemed dangerous by the PA. A number of journalists have already been detained under the new law.

The PA has also been the target of condemnation for its policy of security coordination with Israeli forces -- particularly since Israel has long been criticized for suppressing Palestinians' freedom of expression, by jailing hundreds of journalists, activists, and average citizens for social media activity. 

Abbas claimed to freeze security coordination with Israel after Israeli forces imposed a bloody crackdown on a Palestinian civil disobedience campaign protesting new security measures at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

However, reports have emerged that PA forces have been secretly continuing security coordination by carrying out a number of arrests, while Israeli forces have continued to violently raid PA-controlled areas of the occupied West Bank on a daily basis to detain Palestinians without interference from the PA.
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Palestinian authorities reportedly arrested Amro, an activist with Youth Against Settlements, for criticizing the PA in a Facebook post. Amro, who is also facing charges in Israeli military court for his political activism, has been recognized by the EU and UN as a human rights defender.

by By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man for 972Mag
Published September 5, 2017

Palestinian security forces arrested human rights defender and well-known Palestinian activist Issa Amro in the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday. The arrest was reportedly related to a Facebook post published by Amro, in which he criticized the Palestinian Authority for arresting a journalist a day earlier and called on the Palestinian president to resign.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently signed an “Electronic Crimes” decree, effectively curtailing the little free speech that existed for Palestinians under Palestinian law, and which was believed to target online dissent against the PA, particularly on social media. The new law was roundly criticized by rights groups in Palestine and around the world. Israel also regularly arrests Palestinians for posts on social media.

The Palestinian Preventative Security Service (PSS) summoned Amro, who has been declared a “human rights defender” by the EU and UN, for interrogation about his critical Facebook post on Monday and arrested him at midday.

Amnesty International put out a statement Monday calling for Amro’s immediate release, saying it was “outrageous that a prominent human rights defender has been arrested simply for voicing his opinion online.”

“Criticizing the authorities should not be a criminal offence,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty. “Issa Amro’s arrest is the latest evidence that the Palestinian authorities are determined to continue with their repressive campaign against free speech.”

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also published a statement Monday expressing concern at Amro’s arrest and urging his release.

Last month, Palestinian security forces arrested a large number of journalists in what appeared to be a campaign targeting members of the press working for outlets affiliated with political rivals of Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas’s party.

Amro was reportedly able to make a phone call at the time of his arrest to a colleague at Youth Against Settlements, the Hebron-based group he co-founded, during which he sounded a defiant tone.

“All my writings on social media are part of the freedom of opinion and expression stipulated by the Palestinian Basic Law and are protected by all international laws and conventions,” Amro said, according to a press release Youth Against Settlements sent out on Monday night. “My arrest will not affect my defense of human rights and the rights of journalists to exercise their work freely and without pressure from the government.”

Amro has not been heard from since.

The Palestinian security forces are not the only ones targeting Amro for his defiant politics and activism. Amro is also currently on trial in an Israeli military court, where almost all of the 18 charges are related to his political activity and nonviolent action. Under Israeli military law, there is no legal avenue for Palestinians to protest or demonstrate politically. Amro’s activism, much of which is the basis for his current charges, has been reported by +972 here, here, here and here.

In a video interview with +972 Magazine late last year, Amro spoke about the charges against him and why he thinks Israel wants to suppress his and others’ nonviolent resistance to the occupation, particularly in Hebron.

Thirty-two U.S. congresspeople sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last month urging him to intervene on Amro’s behalf with regards to the Israeli charges against him.

Yael Marom contributed to this report.