- Human RightsPalestine
- October 24, 2008
- 2 minutes read
The Palestinian Journalists Forum calls for release of Journalists
The Palestinian Journalists Forum (PJF) condemned, in a statement on Friday, the arrest, by the PA security, of Muhammad Eshtewi, correspondent of the Aqsa Satellite Channel in the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem.
The PJF held on Thursday a picket opposite the Legislative Council in Gaza to demand the release of Eight journalists held in West Bank jails and 3 journalists held in Gaza jails.
The PJF said in its statement that the PA security responded to the picket by arresting another journalist instead of releasing detained journalists and that it viewed this as a slap on the face.
The PJF further called in its statement for the release of Eshtewi and the eight other journalists held in West Bank jails as well as three journalists held in Gaza jails.
The organisation also called the governments in both Gaza and the West Bank to spare journalists the political wrangling and to give them freedom to serve the Palestinian cause pointing out that Palestinian journalists have excelled in their field of work and a number of them have won international prizes for their work, and that instead of being detained they should be encouraged and rewarded for their excellent work.
The PJF stressed that the detention of journalists only serves the Israeli occupation as Palestinian journalists have been efficient in exposing occupation atrocities against the Palestinian people.