Friday, September 12, 2008

Israel bans travel of human rights defenders

Report, Al Mezan, 11 September 2008

"On 9 September 2008, Israel informed European diplomats that it rejected the applications for permission to exit Gaza submitted by three human rights defenders, including two winners of human rights awards. The applicants were Issam Younis and Mahmoud Abu Rahma of Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Raji Sourani of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. The activists had applied for permits to take part in human rights events relevant to their work on human rights in Europe.

The human rights defenders have been invited by the Swedish organization Diakonia and the Belgian organization Avocats Sans Frontiers to take part in a conference on the enforcement of the international humanitarian law with regard to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The conference is scheduled to take place on 13 and 14 September 2008. In addition, they have been invited by the Irish organization Trocaire to take part in a review on its work on Israel and the OPT, scheduled to take place between 14 and 19 September. The human rights defenders were also scheduled to meet officials from the European Union (EU) and member states, including cabinet members in Belgium, and raise human rights issues with them......"

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