A Palestinian man who clicked “Like” on a Facebook status
criticising a Palestinian Authority (PA) official has been sentenced to
six months in prison.
Anas Ismail, 29, of Salfit, near Nablus, was found guilty of “libel
and slander.” Ismail is the second Palestinian to be imprisoned for
Facebook activities in the past few days.
He was sentenced to prison on the same day another PA court in
Bethlehem sentenced a Palestinian journalist to one year in prison for
sharing a photo on Facebook that compared PA President Mahmoud Abbas to a
villain and spy of French colonial authorities in a Syrian drama.
The Palestinian Authority police on Friday night released another
Palestinian, Mamdouh Hamamreh from prison, one day after he had been
sentenced to one year in prison for insulting PA President Mahmoud Abbas
on Facebook.
On Thursday, a PA court in Bethlehem upheld a one-year prison
sentence imposed earlier on Hamamreh after convicting him of publishing a
photo on Facebook comparing Abbas to a villain and traitor who appeared
in a popular Syrian TV production.
Hamamreh was the second Palestinian to be imprisoned for insulting Abbas on Facebook since the beginning of this year.
In February, a PA court in Nablus sentenced 26-year-old Anas Awwad, a
university student, to one year in prison for positing a photo
depicting Abbas as a Real Madrid player. Awwad too was later pardoned by
Abbas.
Earlier this year, Ayman Samarah, 40, of Jenin, was found dead in his
prison cell after PA security forces prevented Palestinian journalists
from covering the case.
The treatment of prisoners in Palestinian prisons is becoming increasingly concerning to human rights activists.
The mother of Karim Shaheen, who is being held in Jericho Prison,
said that her son has been hospitalised after suffering from paralysis
in in his left arm as a result of torture.
The family of another detainee, Baha Zahdeh, also accused the PA
security forces of torturing their son, who is being held in the same
prison on suspicion of membership in Hamas.
The Palestinian Authority is however, renowed for paying salaries to convicted terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons.
Norwegian authorities recently expressed their concern over the financial support for the Palestinian Authority and where the money given in aid is going.
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