Tuesday, August 12, 2008

PA continues its West Bank arrest campaign of Hamas supporters


Report, PCHR, 11 August 2008

"The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the attacks on private and civil society organizations and the continued arrests by Palestinian security forces of Hamas members in the West Bank. PCHR points to the continuation of the detention policy despite the decision issued by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on 31 July 2008 to release all Hamas political prisoners apprehended on the backdrop of the latest events in Gaza. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian government in Ramallah to cease its violations against civil society organizations, to end all forms of arbitrary arrests and to immediately release all political prisoners held by security services in the West Bank........

PCHR strongly condemns these violations, and:

1. Calls upon the government in Ramallah to stop the campaign against civil society organizations and to rescind all measures of closure and confiscation against these organizations.
2. Asserts that the right of association is ensured by the constitution and international human rights standards, and that all measures taken by security services and the Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades violate Law #1 of 2000 Related to Charities and non-governmental organizations.
3. Calls for neutralizing the civil society from the conflict between Fatah and Hamas movements, and stresses that independence of the civil society and the vital role played by non-governmental organizations in providing social, economic, developmental and cultural services.
4. Calls for the immediate release of all political detainees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and reminds of the Palestinian High Court Decision of 20 February 1999 outlawing political arrests; and calls upon all executive parties to respect the High Court decision and retrain from conducting illegal political arrests."

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