Steven Katsineris with a piece highlighting the injustice being pursued against a recently released Palestinian prisoner. Steven Katsineris is an Australian free-lance writer of
articles on Palestine, Cyprus and the rest of the Middle East region,
political prisoners and human rights, environmental and social issues.
He has been actively involved in the Palestine solidarity movement for
over forty years. Steven lives with his family in Melbourne, Australia.
The Israeli authorities must drop all charges against a
Palestinian human rights lawyer released on bail last night, Amnesty
International said.
A military judge at Ofer Military Court ordered the release
of Anas Bargouthi on bail because confessions from other detainees submitted as
evidence failed to prove he is a security threat – particularly since the
accusations against him relate to alleged activities from over a year ago.
‘The release of Anas Bargouthi is positive news but he
should have never been detained and charged in the first place,’ said Philip
Luther, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty
International.
It is unacceptable for Israeli authorities to continue to prosecute activists because of their peaceful work in defence of human rights. This release should be a first step towards the authorities ending their harassment of Palestinian human rights defenders.
Anas Barghouti, a lawyer with the Addameer Association for
Prisoner Support and Human Rights, was arrested by the Israeli army on 15
September 2013 at a checkpoint north of Bethlehem in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.
Nine days later, he was charged with “membership in the
Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine”, an organization which
Israel has banned, and 'leadership of a committee to organize demonstrations.'
He denies both charges. If convicted on these charges, Anas Barghouti faces up
to 18 months in prison. Amnesty International would again consider him to be a
prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for his work on behalf of prisoners
and the peaceful expression of his political views.
The Addameer Association for Prisoner Support and Human
Rights provides legal support to Palestinians held by the Palestinian
Authority’s security forces and campaigns for the rights of Palestinians
imprisoned by Israel.
His arrest is part of a pattern of harassment by the Israeli
authorities of Palestinian human rights organizations and activists in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories, which includes arbitrary detentions,
restrictions on movement, and raids of homes and offices.
- Source- Amnesty International statement, 24/10/13.
Is he a relative of Marwan Barghouti? I see the slight difference in the spelling but wonder was it due to translation.
ReplyDeleteI now see two surname spellings are used if he is a relative of Marwan persection by the Israelis would have a very clear reason but I may be barking up the wrong tree.
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ReplyDeleteFrom Steven Katsineris
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Kev, it's appreciated. I don’t think that Anas and Marwan are related, but I'll try to find out as I'm not exactly sure. So, I'll let you know when I find out more, as I'm also interested in this angle too. I do know that two leading Palestinians Marwan and Mustafa Barghouti are cousins.