PA releases 6 journalists on bail

Palestinian journalists arrested on 13 August, 2017: Mamdouh Mahmoud Hamamrah, Qotaybah Saleh Qasem, Tariq ‘Abdel Razeq Abu Zaid, ‘Amer ‘Abdul Halim Mohammed Abu ‘Arafah and Mohammed Ahmed Halayqah [imemc.org]

The Palestinian General Intelligence Service (GIS) in the occupied West Bank yesterday released six Palestinian journalists arrested a couple of days ago on bail, news agencies reported.

Quds Net said that five journalists were released early yesterday and the sixth was released in the evening.

According to Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, on 8 August the GIS in the occupied West Bank arrested Mamdouh Mahmoud Hamamrah, 33 from Bethlehem and a reporter at Al-Quds Satellite Channel; Qotaybah Saleh Qasem, a 29-year-old freelance journalist also from Bethlehem; Tariq Abdel Razeq Abu Zaid, a 42-year-old from Nablus and a reporter at Al-Aqsa Satellite Channel; and Amer Abdul Halim Mohammed Abu Arafah, a 35-year-old from Hebron who works for the Shehab News Agency.

Read: Is Israel really a safe haven for journalists?

The next day, GIS also arrested 31-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Halayqah from Hebron who also works at the Al-Quds Satellite Channel.

The PA claims it arrested the men after they leaked “sensitive information” to a hostile party. However their family members believe they were arrested because they report on events on the ground.

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