Unlawful imprisonment of Palestinian journalist Samer Allawi
We write to bring your attention to the imprisonment of a Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist, Samer Allawi, held without
charge by the Israeli authorities. We believe that his arrest has serious implications for free speech and media
reporting in the Middle East. Samer was arrested on August 9th whilst crossing the Allenby Bridge to Jordan, after
visiting family in the village of Sebastia, Nablus. He was then transferred to the Jalama centre in Haifa, where he was
initially held for 96 hours, and interrogated by Israeli intelligence forces. He has been held there ever since.
On August 28th, an Israeli court ruled that 'more investigation' was needed and extended his detainment. Samer, who is
the chief correspondent for the Al Jazeera Afghanistan bureau, was questioned about his work for the network and forced
to reveal log-in information for his personal and work emails, according to his lawyers. He has been accused of
contacting the Hamas leadership, a charge he emphatically denies.
Samer arrest is a complete violation of the right to family life, free movement and freedom of expression, enshrined in
international law and more importantly working in the media field which clearly a right that is being denied by the
Israeli authorities. As a colleague of yours, we urge you to report the case of Samer Allawi through your media
outlets—and call for his release—as a means of pressurising the Israeli state to respect the right of free movement and
free speech of not only those working in the media, but of all Palestinians who are denied their basic freedoms living
under occupation.
If you have any further questions about the nature of Samer's arrest, or questions about the plight of Palestinian
prisoners, please do not hesitate to contact UFree media centre media@ufree-p.net and visit our website for latest update about Allwai’s case. We at UFree look forward to hearing from you/your
organisation soon.
UFree is an independent European-wide human rights network; set up to defend the rights of Palestinian prisoners and
detainees.
"Without freedom, no one really has a name” Milton Acorda
ENDS