Rights group presses PA Prime Minister about freedoms in West Bank

Rights group Lawyers for Justice presses Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to discuss freedoms in the occupied West Bank.

According to Safa news agency, the questions relate to the summoning and detention campaigns carried out against activists by the PA security services without judicial orders.

“What do you, Shtayyeh, say about the detentions that have been documented since the announcement of the state of emergency?” the group asked.

It reiterated that the cases registered at courts as violations related to the state of emergency, while the detainees are investigated over their political affiliation, political opinions, and even social activism and assistance of the poor.

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“Where is the government from the rights groups’ reports about the violations in the streets? From the judicial system which is being run by the executive authority? From laws which have the judges monitored by the executive authority and security services for three years?”

“Where is the government and Prime Minister from the law of electronic crimes which legalises crackdowns on freedoms?”

The group said it had documented 70 violations related to political detentions since the murder of activist Nizar Banat in late June. The rights group stressed that these detentions were carried out in violation of freedom of expression, as those arrested were calling for justice for Banat and his family.