Hamas Releases Detained Journalists
Mohammed Suliman reports on concerns for press freedom in Gaza, despite Hamas releasing four journalists detained last week.
Hamas caved to public pressure and on Jan. 28 released six individuals, including four journalists, who were detained the previous week, on Jan. 21 and 22.
“Having received orders from Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, the four journalists who were earlier arrested by the internal security apparatus in Gaza have been released despite the sensitivity of the charges,” announced Ihab al-Ghussein, the head of the Government Press Office in Gaza.
The journalists are Munir Al-Manirawi, executive director of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate; Mustafa Miqdad, chief editor in the Palestinian Media Group; Ashraf Abu Khsewan, a journalist with the Alkitab Channel and Jumaa Adnan Abu Shumer, a reporter for Sawt al-Huriyya.
According to the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, members of the security force broke into the homes of the journalists, searched their belongings and confiscated a number of laptops and mobile phones. The journalists' families said the arrests were carried out without official warrants.
