BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The recent detentions of three Palestinian journalists in the West Bank are not based on security complaints but legal charges filed by individuals, the spokesman of the West Bank security services said Sunday.
"The Palestinian Authority's security services have no security-related problem with any journalist," Adnan Dmeiri told Ma’an.
Reporter Yousef al-Shayeb was detained a week ago, and on Wednesday a Palestinian court extended his remand for 15 days. He is being held while under investigation for libel and defamation over a Jordanian newspaper article published in January.
Ismat Abdul Khaliq was also detained this week after posting a number of comments on Facebook, and Tareq Khamis of Zaman press was briefly held on Sunday.
Individual complaints?
Abdul Khaliq and al-Shayeb were detained "upon orders by the Attorney General and judiciary over legal charges filed by other people," Dmeiri said. He said three charges have been filed against Abdul Khaliq, without elaborating on the petitioners.
Earlier on Sunday, Palestinian Attorney General Ahmad al-Maghni said the preventive security had filed a complaint against Ismat Abdul Khaliq.
She posted a number of insulting comments which accused President Mahmoud Abbas of betrayal and called for disbanding the Palestinian Authority. The exact charges were not clear.
Meanwhile Tariq Khamis was interrogated over "something related to Ismat Abdul-Khaliq," Dmeiri said, also without providing details. Khamis was detained Sunday from offices of Arab Cultural Forum in Al-Bireh near Ramallah, and later released.
Al-Shayeb was jailed after a complaint filed by Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki and Hael al-Fahoum, the envoy in Paris. His report in Al-Ghad newspaper documented corruption allegations against the Palestinian diplomatic delegation in France, the Palestinian National Fund and the foreign minister.
Al-Malki on Thursday defended his role in the reporter's arrest, after the Palestinian journalists union held protests and called for members to boycott a press freedom prize announced by the PA days earlier.
"I'm surprised some journalists reacted emotionally on behalf of their colleague without hearing the other side's case, or considering for a moment if Yousef al-Shayeb is the oppressor or the oppressed," the foreign minister told Ma'an.
He maintains al-Shayeb knew beforehand of falsehoods in his report, which claims al-Malki illegally promoted a diplomat to the post of deputy ambassador despite having knowledge of his ties to foreign intelligence.
'No problem'
The attorney general said Sunday the PA sees "no problem" in detaining journalists who break the law.
"Any journalist is allowed to publish any information he wants to, after proving it with evidence rather than basing it on (rumors on) Facebook and other networking sites," al-Maghni said.
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists called for al-Shayeb's release, warning that the case will lead to self-censorship and undermine public trust in the media.
"The protection of sources is universally accepted as an essential tenet of independent reporting," IFJ president Jim Boumelha said in a statement.
"Journalists the world over will be outraged that Shayeb has been sentenced for upholding such a basic principle. He has no case to answer and should be released immediately," he said.
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