Human rights group accuses PA of silencing student dissent - The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

by The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

After Hamas student group wins elections at West Bank university, Palestinian Authority cancels all student elections in the area • PA official denies muffling political criticism: If it were true, "you would have seen thousands of people in jail."

Palestinians celebrate after a Hamas student group won the student council election at Birzeit University in Ramallah | Photo credit: Reuters

A leading international rights group voiced concerns Thursday that the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, was increasingly clamping down on freedom of expression by arresting students for political affiliations or comments made on Facebook.

Human Rights Watch said dozens of students have been arrested by PA security forces in the territory for criticizing PA President Mahmoud Abbas, or for expressing support for the terrorist Hamas group, which runs the Gaza Strip.

The New York-based watchdog said it was "deeply worrying" that students were detained by Palestinian forces for their views.

Palestinian police arrested two students over their Facebook posts, it said. One student was detained for 30 days for criticizing an official on social media.

HRW quoted journalism student Ayman Mahariq from West Bank's Al Quds University as saying that plainclothes policemen asked him to come to a police station, where they beat him and showed him a printout of his Facebook posts. He said he has since deleted the posts, including those calling for an end to "military rule."

The report by HRW also cited Bara al-Qadi, a media student at the West Bank's flagship university Birzeit, who was reportedly held without charges for almost two weeks by PA security forces for "insulting a public official." Qadi had called on Facebook for Jibril Rajoub, the president of the Palestinian Football Association and Olympic Committee, to resign after the Palestinian team lost 5-1 to Jordan.

Palestinian Authority spokesman Adnan Dameri denied arbitrary arrests for political reasons in the West Bank.

If this were true, he said, "you would have seen thousands of people in jail."

"These people have been arrested for the criminal charge of incitement of sectarian violence and other criminal charges," he added.

About week after a Hamas-affiliated student group won elections at Birzeit, the PA canceled all school elections in the area. A student representative told HRW he was arrested and beaten by Palestinian police.

Human Rights Watch also recommended that countries that support the Palestinian Authority should monitor human rights there.

The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=25343

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