3 Newsletter published by SKEYES for the defence of media &

cultural freedoms for Samir Kassir Foundation

Tuesday 31 August 2010 Center for Media and Cultural Freedom

SKeyes organizes a workshop on protecting the rights of journalists and reviving the Order of Journalists
The SKeyes Centre for Media and Cultural Freedoms launched
a workshop on developing the most prestigious profession
in Lebanon, the protection of the syndicate-related and
professional rights of the journalists and media professionals,
and the revival of the Order of Journalists as a universal
union for all media workers.
The workshop was organized by the SKeyes Center for Media
and Cultural Freedoms on July 29, in collaboration with
the Friedrich Ebert Foundation at the Riviera Hotel in the
Raoucheh area in Beirut, under the auspices and participation
of the Information Minister Dr. Tarek Mitri and a number of
journalists and public figures.
The SKeyes’ director, colleague Saad Kiwan, inaugurated
the workshop in a speech in which he shed light on the
conditions of the profession, followed by a speech by the
Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Samir Farah.
Minister Mitri then said, “The freedom of the press is facing
two kinds of pressure, but from the political factions and not
the state, namely, the threat of violence on one hand, and
the over-caution forced upon the journalists by their media
institutions on the other hand.” He also said that “threats and Sanaa al-Jak. It included a lecture by the veteran journalist campaigns, due to the absence of a syndicate in Lebanon
incitements are more prevalent in the media than intellect, and colleague George Nassif, and a presentation on the legal that is a member of the Federation”. She also emphasized
while opinionated journalism exceeds the knowledge-based reality of the Order by the lawyer Mohammad Matar. that “the lack of joint endeavors between the Federation and
one”. He then called for the enactment of a new law to The second session, which was entitled “the reality of the this syndicate led to a lack of experience in identifying the
regulate the practice of journalism. Order of Journalists: problems and solutions”, was moderated challenges that beset the journalists in Lebanon”.
The workshop was divided into two sessions, preceded by by colleague Qassem Kassir, and saw the participation of Bouchetob also spoke about the “current movement in the
the screening of a documentary prepared by the colleague colleagues Warda al-Zamel, Rashed al-Fayed, and Ghiyath press body towards raising professional issues and reviving
Rula Mouwaffaq, which included testimonies given by Yazbek. During the first session, the Head of Projects for and advancing the Order of Journalists”. At the end of the
veteran colleagues regarding their professional and personal the Middle East and North Africa Region at the International workshop, several recommendations were adopted, while the
problems. Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Sarah Bouchetob gave a conveners decided to create a follow up committee that
The first session was entitled “the professional reality of statement in which she said that “the Federation is still would work on widening the advocacy movement for the
journalists in Lebanon” and was moderated by colleague looking for ways to engage the Lebanese journalists in its journalists and uniting the efforts of media professionals.

And…a panel discussion on cultural freedoms in Jordan

On Sunday, July 11, 2010, the SKeyes Centre for
Media and Cultural Freedom, in collaboration
with the Community Media Network (C.M.N),
held a panel discussion in the Jordanian
capital Amman. The discussion dealt with the
circumstances surrounding media and cultural
freedoms in Jordan, and the prospects for
improving the margin of these freedoms. It
SKeyes website: http://www.skeyesmedia.org
This Project is
funded by the
EUROPEAN UNION
was attended by 12 Jordanian journalists, press. Ultimately, this adversely affects media follow up freedom issues, in particular book
intellectuals and publishers, in addition to coverage of these issues and the freedom of banning, and which then raises them in the
the director of the Centre, the journalist Saad expression and creativity. media. The panel also recommended the
Kiwan. In the course of the discussion, the The panel then adopted a number of endorsement of cases involving intellectuals
participants warned against the continued recommendations including the creation of a and journalists and to defend them in courts,
practice of book banning, and stressed the coordination committee that brings together in addition to training specialized lawyers to
need to amend the laws on the press and journalists, intellectuals and publishers to defend writers, novelists and poets.
publications, and other laws that impose
restrictions on freedoms, such as the law on
state secrets’ confidentiality and the freedom
of information law, in addition to revising the
role of the National Library in the publishing
process and putting an end to that of
the Press and Publications Department in
censoring books.
The participants also tackled the issue of the
relation between intellectuals, publishers and
journalists, and the need for communication
and coordination among them in light of the
lack of information on book banning that
can otherwise be easily accessible by the

AGENDA
SKeyes Holds
a Workshop at the
Beirut Arab University
Between May 11 and May 14, 2010,
the SKeyes Centre for Media and
Cultural Freedoms held a training
workshop over five days entitled
“The Types of Press Writing”.
The workshop was held on the
Beirut Arab University Campus in
Cola, with the participation of a
number of Lebanese and Egyptian
lecturers. Their names are:
- Iman Shamas (Drafting and
editing news reports)
- Jamal Mojahed (Communication
skills)
- Zuheir Hawari (Professional
Ethics)
- Mona Saliba (Drafting television
news reports)
- Rouba Kabbara (Investigative
reports and news quoted from
news agencies)
- Ibrahim Arab (Blogging)
The workshop, which was attended
by more than twenty Fourth-
Year students – at the faculty
of journalism at the Beirut Arab
University-, sought to develop the
journalistic skills of the participants,
and to provide them with a glimpse
of professional journalism. This was
done by training them on the
skills and tools of communications,
the methods of drafting television
news reports, conducting successful
field investigations, and on how to
benefit from the various information
provided by news agencies.
The workshop then concluded with
emphasizing the prospects of using
modern technologies in drafting
and publishing news stories
through blogs, as it has become
one of the important sources of
information in our age.
The workshop was the first
cooperative effort with the Beirut
Arab University, with the hope
that it will be followed by other
workshops with the start of the
academic year.
SKeyes meets Williams and hands him a letter to Bank Ki-moon
On the fifth anniversary of the assassination of the journalist
and historian Samir Kassir, a delegation from the SKeyes
Centre for Media and Cultural Freedom, a part of the Samir
Kassir Foundation, visited the office of the United Nations
Special Coordinator for Lebanon, and met with the Deputy
Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Michael
Williams.
The delegation handed Williams a special letter to the UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, calling for the investigations
into the assassinations and assassination attempts against
the journalists in 2005 to be sped up, in order to achieve
justice and establish the concept of non-impunity, particularly
when impunity helps increase the regimes’ crackdown against
human rights in general, and intellectuals and journalists in
particular. In its letter to Williams and through him to the
United Nations, SKeyes said that on the fifth anniversary of
the assassination of Samir Kassir who was killed in a car
bomb, as part of an aggressive attack on the freedom of
opinion and expression, the perpetrators remain at large and
are yet to be brought to justice. In addition, the perpetrators
of the assassination of the journalist Gibran Tueini and the
assassination attempt against the journalist May Chidiac are
still at large.
The Centre pointed out in its letter that “the campaigns of
“SKeyes” collaborates with the Jordanian websites
“SKeyes” center for Defending Media and Cultural Freedoms
was paying close attention since months ago, with the
liberated steps that the Jordanian government in the media
field and tending to consider the media freedoms as one of
the principles that the international declaration for human
rights has imposed. Yet the center was surprised for the trend
that the matters went through during the last couple of
weeks and for the decisions were taken concerning the reality
of the flourished electronic media in the kingdom, which is
competing with the press now. They prohibited the employees
to surf the web during the official working hours, and then
they issued a new temporary provision for the information
systems’ crimes.
Those procedures pushed us to reveal our deepest concerns
towards this trend, which constitutes a clear violation against
the freedom to access information. Also, we are worried that
it would develop a prelude for limiting the media freedoms
in general.
We have noted through our accurate review the actions taken,
the laws, regulations, and legislations relating to the internet
network and its usages since the beginning of this year, was
practically aiming at imposing restrictions upon the websites
«Skeyes» denounces the palestinian’s campain of arrests
against journalists and academics
Last week the security forces of the Palestinian National Authority
arrested three journalists, bringing the number of imprisoned
journalists to five, four of them are from the city of Nablus
alone, while the total number of academics who are detained
reached to nine, and they are professors at Najah National
University. And this is at the academic level, but at the media
level, intelligence device arrested the journalist Mohamed Mona
on July 28, 2010 and the journalist, Ahmed Betawi, who works
in the International Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights who
has been detained since 31of last July 2010. The journalist, Amer
Abu Arafa the correspondent of “ Shahab Agency” electronic one,
has been arrested since 11 May 2010, after being sentenced by
2
moral violence that pave the way for physical violence and
assassinations, have continued against some journalists, for
no reason other than their exercise of their sacred right to
expression, at a time when we are witnessing a return to the
retaliatory atmosphere that tarnishes freedoms, similar to the
one witnessed in Lebanon before 2005. This is particularly
valid given the increasing climate of censorship and self-
censorship, and for this reason, justice must take its course in
order to identify the perpetrators of the attacks against the
journalists, and for laws to be enacted in this regard”.
As an aside, the Centre also condemns the use of intellectual
terrorism and all forms of violence against the press and the
media in Lebanon”.
At the end of the meeting, the delegation handed Williams a
petition signed by two hundred journalists, addressed to Ban
Ki-moon on the anniversary of the assassination of Kassir, “the
martyr who suffered in his struggle for a free media, and
who fought for the word, the revolution and independence.
He will never be forgotten by the press for his struggle
against tyranny and oppression, and his refusal to succumb to
self-censorship, and because he was a prominent defender of
Lebanon’s independence and the Palestinian cause”.
Williams then pledged to deliver the letter to the UN Secretary
General.
and to subject it to the Media and Publishing law.  The
latter, which the Jordanian journalists are primarily trying to
modify, imposes many restrictions upon the press freedom.
Later then, the incitement campaigns upon the websites that
some newspapers led, probably due to the significant role that
those websites are specialized with.
The legal framework that the new complicated legislation
had set for organizing the web surf, together with the
penalties it imposed against the “Lawbreakers” should lead to
implementing arbitrary, discretionary and random measures.
Those measures will limit the expression and communication
freedoms between the employers and the citizens.
However, the most hazardous issue of this law is the article
#13 which gives the police officers the right to invade and
explore the houses of the lawbreakers’ suspects.
“SKeyes” center, for the commitment of defending the media
freedoms as the access to information freedom, announces its
dedicated solidarity with all of the Jordanian websites, calls
for the Jordanian government to immediately withdraw “the
information systems’ crimes act”. Moreover, it requests the
government would immobilize all the approaches that would
lessen the media and expression freedoms.
a Palestinian military court to a period of three months and a
fine, and before him the correspondent of “AlAksa Broadcast”
Tareq Abu Zeid, who was sentenced to prison for a year and a
half on February 16, 2010 by a military court in Nablus.. The
center of “Skeyes” to defend press freedoms and cultural rights
condemns the campaign of arrests of Palestinian journalists
and media workers by the military security services, and to be
thrown into prison without charge against them, and without any
legal justification which allows that. And the center of “Skeyes”
calls on the Palestinian authorities to release them immediately
and to put an end to these violations against media freedoms in
the territory of the Palestinian National Authority.

The Recommendations of the Riviera Hotel
Workshop Regarding the Media Scene
In the workshop organized by the SKeyes Centre for Media and
Cultural Freedoms, in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert
Foundation, the Information Minister Tarek Mitri listened to
the testimonies of junior colleagues and veteran journalists, as
they expressed their concerns regarding their livelihoods and
their conditions. The Minister was briefed on their concerns
regarding their present and their future, and their bid to create
an effective syndicate that establishes legal and regulatory
frameworks for their profession, and provides them with
protection in line with other syndicates and unions.
Afterwards, the attendance watched a documentary prepared
by colleague Rula Mouwaffaq, which included testimonies given
by other colleagues regarding their professional and personal
problems. The workshop on “The Lebanese journalists’ syndicate-
related conditions and professional realities” then began at
the Riviera Hotel, under the patronage and attendance of
Minister Mitri.
The Minister said that “the freedom of the press is facing
two kinds of pressure, but from the political factions
and not the state, namely, the threat of violence on one
hand, and the over-caution forced upon the journalists
by their media institutions on the other hand.” He also
said that “threats and incitements are more prevalent in
the media than intellect, while opinionated journalism is
more widespread than the knowledge-based one”. He then
called for the enactment of a new law to regulate the
practice of journalism.
The Sessions
As part of the workshop, two sessions were held. The first was
entitled “the professional reality of journalists in Lebanon”, and
was moderated by colleague Sanaa al-Jak. It included a lecture
by the veteran journalist and colleague George Nassif, and a
legal presentation by the lawyer Mohammad Matar.
The second session, which was entitled “the reality of the
Order of Journalists: problems and solutions”, was moderated by
colleague Qassem Kassir, and saw the participation of colleagues
Warda al-Zamel, Rashed al-Fayed, and Ghiyath Yazbek.
Bouchetob
During the first session, the Head of Projects for the Middle
East and North Africa Region at the International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) Sarah Bouchetob gave a statement in which
she said that “the Federation is still looking for ways to
engage the Lebanese journalists in its campaigns, due to the
absence of a syndicate in Lebanon that is a member of
the Federation”. She also emphasized that “the lack of joint
endeavors between the Federation and this syndicate led to a
lack of experience in identifying the challenges that beset the
journalists in Lebanon”.
Bouchetob also spoke about the “current movement in the
press body towards raising professional issues and reviving and
upgrading the Order of Journalists”.
Nassif
The colleague George Nassif talked about the subject of the
session, and gave an account of his personal experience where
he was arbitrarily sacked from Al-Nahar after 35 years. Nassif
said that there is a state of “abandonment experienced by the
journalists in Lebanon, where no one expresses solidarity with
you unless they share your same political affiliations”.
Matar
Matar gave two proposals on both the public and private
levels, saying that at the first level “the legal direction must
tend towards more intervention by the constitutional councils
in protecting rights and not just through litigation”. At the
private level, he suggested that “each journalist must have a
proportional share in his or her outlet”.
Al-Zamel
During the second session, Al-Zamel wondered “who factors
us in (the radio and television hosts) when it comes to the
syndicate? Are we considered to be among media professionals
when the latter’s problems and concerns are discussed?” She
then proposed that the laws on media affairs be amended in
parliamentarian circles.
Al-Fayed
Fayed pointed out to the fact that he does not benefit from
any services from the syndicate that he is a member of,
and said, “There are neither gains nor protection [offered]”.
He then pointed out that “the new generation that recently
began practicing journalism has been overwhelmingly affiliated
to militias and is politically biased, when compared to the old
generation”. He then said that he had hoped that someone
introduced a plan to improve syndicate action at the workshop,
and expressed his regret that the profession has become a
“profession for those who do not have one”.
Yazbek
Yazbek said that “it is necessary to tackle three main issues
before addressing that of the syndicate. These issues are:
identifying the journalist/editor, at which university he or she
studied, and whether is it required from this university to
‘hold their hands’ so they can learn the fundamentals of
journalism?”[Sic] He also mentioned that the most important
condition for joining the syndicate was “obtaining a degree in
journalism or the mass media, while the degree holder must be
distinguished in his or her education”.
Kiwan
The SKeyes’ director at the Samir Kassir Foundation, colleague
Saad Kiwan, had inaugurated the workshop in a speech in
which he said, “We launched this initiative in order to review
3
the conditions of the profession and to improve the status of
the journalists in Lebanon, in particular in what pertains to
the syndicate-related affairs. There are many veteran and junior
journalists who need a framework that protects their rights”.
Farah
Meanwhile, the representative of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation,
Samir Farah, hoped that “the independent media in Lebanon
will make progress, and that the number of free journalists that
no one can bribe or influence multiplies”.
Dialogue and Recommendations
The workshop sought to launch “a dialogue in order to reach
a common vision to establish an active advocacy for elevating
the status of the profession, and defending press freedoms and
the journalists’ rights”. In order to achieve these goals, the
conveners decided to create a follow-up committee comprised
of the colleagues: Rashed al-Fayed, Sanaa al-Jak, George Nassif,
Ghyiath Yazbek, Fatima Houhou, Qassem Kassir, Habib Maalouf,
Melhem Riyachi and Rima Awad. The objective of the committee’s
follow-up contacts is to:
- Emphasize the unity of syndicate advocacy for the
journalists, something that can only be achieved through
a single syndicate that embraces all media professionals,
sponsors them, and follows-up and resolves their
problems.
- Organize a campaign aimed at improving the by-laws
of the Order of Journalists, with a view to achieve the
following provisions:
- Welcoming all media professionals (audiovisual, written,
and digital) into the Order.
- Enacting laws that guarantee the freedom of the media
and serious protection for the journalists by amending
the current laws on the press and the media.
- Providing healthcare and social benefits to all journalists
and media professionals
- Adopting a framework for journalists’ internships.
- Providing training and capacity building for new
graduates in media majors.
- Widen the debate in order to improve and expand the
workshop’s ideas.

Websites in Jordan call on the government to repeal the new law
Amman-SKeyes
In a statement they issued on Friday,
August 6, the editors and publishers of
28 Jordanian news websites called on
the Jordanian government to repeal the
provisional “Information Technology Crimes
Act”, and to overturn the decision to
block the websites of national electronic
newspapers under flimsy pretexts.
According to the Ammon news website,
the signatories of the statement
said that the policy pursued by the
government of Prime Minister Samir
Rifai vis-à-vis the media raises many
questions about its intentions regarding
its oversight of the upcoming elections,
and whether the government is sincere
in its declared stance to ensure an
honest and transparent electoral process.
These questions are especially valid in
light of the government’s insistence on
banishing watchful witnesses, stifling
their voices and equating them with
criminals.
The statement mentioned retaliatory
measures that the publishers and editors
of the news websites might take, and
stressed that they will not stand idly
by with regard to these practices by
the government that are contrary to
modernity. The signatories also said
that they, using all legitimate means
at their disposal, will continue putting
pressure on the government to withdraw
this provisional Act, and will adopt a
gradually intensifying plan that will
spare no legal means to achieve its
goals.
The signatories of the statement appealed
to King Abdullah II “not to sign the draft
law as it completely contradicts the
public and press freedoms his highness
calls for, and as he is the one who once
said that famous slogan now adopted
by journalists, that “freedom should only
have the sky as the limit”.
Below is the text of the statement:
“The publishers of electronic newspapers
held a meeting on the evening of
Thursday in Amman, in which they
explored the ways to deal with the
government’s policies that are hostile to
public freedoms, and that stifle voices
whether by blocking these websites from
public sector employees, or by issuing
the provisional “Information Technology
Crimes Act”. If enforced, this law will
place further restrictions and hurdles
to the free flow of information, and
criminalize or place under suspicion all
internet users. This is contrary to the
Jordanian constitution in both words and
spirit, in addition to its contravention of
the most basic international standards on
the use of the World Wide Web.
At the end of the meeting, the conferees
decided to adopt a gradually intensifying
plan to confront the anti-
freedom policies of the
government, in addition to
forming a legal committee
tasked with the study of the
implications of the provisional
act on public freedoms.
(...)
Since the time of the
government of Mr. Zeid Al
Rifai in 1989, the country
has not seen such a decline
of public freedoms, as the
one taking place today. This
decline has coincided with a
worsening economic crisis, reminiscent
of the atmosphere that prevailed in
the country at the end of the eighties.
This renders the parallel failure of the
government in tackling the economic
crisis and its crackdown on public
freedoms, a consistent policy followed by
a political school of thought that believes
that it cannot govern without imposing a
martial atmosphere where accountability
is absent both in the press and the
parliamentary assembly.
(...)
The government also increased pressure
on the press to the extent at which it
rendered the majority of the press an
echo of its policies that dares not object
to them. As a result, the government
became further isolated, and the press
lost much of its credibility in the street.
(...)
The recent ratification of the provisional
“Information Technology Crimes Act”
by the Council of Ministers was the
culmination of Rifai’s characteristic
approach in the crackdown against
freedoms. This sinister law dealt a sharp
blow not only to the electronic media,
but also to the whole of public and
individual freedoms in the country. This
is because access to the internet has
become an integral part of the natural
rights of the individuals who live in
human rights-respecting countries.
The government’s assault on public
freedoms and its attempts to stifle the
electronic press and new media, is also
likely to damage Jordan’s reputation
both regionally and internationally,
and will increase tensions in the
community, something that may have
dire consequences.
This policy pursued by the government
of Rifai vis-à-vis the media raises many
questions about its intentions regarding
its oversight of the upcoming elections,
and whether the government is sincere in
its declared stance to ensure an honest
and transparent electoral process. These
questions are especially valid in light of
the government’s insistence on banishing
watchful witnesses, stifling their voices
and equating them with criminals.
(...)
The new media represented by electronic
newspapers considers the government’s
conduct as such, to be directly targeting
and circumventing it in order to cut
its ties to the public opinion. This is
contrary to the most basic internationally
accepted standards of civil liberties.
The news websites will not stand idly
by with regard to these practices by
the government that are contrary to
modernity. We, using all legitimate means
at their disposal, will continue putting
pressure on the government to withdraw
this provisional Act, and will adopt a
gradually intensifying plan that will spare
no legal means to achieve its goals.
(...)
We will not accept to tolerate corruption
so that the government approves of us,
4
and will not surrender to the
blackmail of the government
and some of its henchmen
and to their claims that we
are unprofessional websites.
Nor will we accept the
marginalization of freedoms
in Jordan, of the country’s
enlightened face and of the
king’s efforts in international
forums just so that the Rifai
government might triumph in
a battle it started with us, a
battle where there is nothing
to be won or lost by the
government. We will not remain silent no
matter what, as we have been taught by
the Hashemites that the Jordanians kneel
only to God, that the Jordanians are their
own masters, and that the government is
the servant of the interests of the people.
Our rights are protected and explicitly
guaranteed by the Constitution, and there
is no justification what so ever for the
government to pass a provisional law to
muzzle the mouths of the Jordanians.
(...)
We demand that the law be withdrawn
immediately or that an article be added
to it that explicitly and unequivocally
exclude electronic news sites from its
provisions, and which also states that
the law strictly targets pornographic
websites, spammers, phishers, and other
forms of cyber criminals.
God bless the people of Jordan and their
freedoms under the Jordanian Hashemite
leadership.
Signatories:
1 – Al-Sawsana, 2 - Ammon, 3 – Al-
Diwan, 4 - Jrassa, 5 – Al-Maqala, 6 -
Saraya, 7 - Khaberni, 8 – Kul al-Ordon,
9 – Amman One, 10 - Maraya, 11 – Al-
Muharrir, 12 - Ayla, 13 - Dunya, 14 -
Watan, 15 – Al-Bousila, 16 - Shams, 17
- Jordan Days, 18 - Ajbad, 19 – Akhbar
al-Balad, 20 - Jordan News, 21 - Moab,
22 – Al-Barlaman, 23 – Rad al-Ordon,
24 - Ram, 25 – Al-Khandaq, 26 – Al-
Mijhar, 27 - Al-Hilal, 28 – Al-Masar

Summonses against the poet and writer As’ad Saftawi continue
because of his article published in Al-Ayyam newspaper last May
Gaza – a SKeyes
Special Report
It started on Thursday, May 20, 2010, a
week after his article entitled “I will quit
smoking simply because I am not the
Central Bank” was published in Al-Ayyam
newspaper. On that day, the poet and
writer As’ad Saftawi received a summons
through the Imam of the mosque in
the neighborhood where he lives in the
northern Gaza Strip.
Saftawi then went to the police
headquarters in Ansar, where he met an
investigator who was close to the art
and intellectual scenes as he previously
worked in the theatre. The investigator
interviewed Saftawi over three hours
and questioning him about the article.
He was carrying a copy of the article,
but not from Al-Ayyam, the independent
and professional newspaper where
Saftawi published his article. Instead,
the investigator’s copy was a print out
from the Kufiyeh-Press website, which is
considered by Hamas to be a “yellow
Fatah propaganda mouthpiece”. When
the writer was asked how the article
made it to this website, he assumed
that it must have been copied from Al-
Ayyam’s main website, and said that this
is not his fault.
Subsequently, the investigator/former
artist began commenting on and inquiring
about each word in the article, and said
that the writer’s sarcasm in the article
annoys them [Hamas], and asked him
at the end of the questioning about his
relationship with a number of writers,
human rights and social activist such
as Ibrahim al-Shatli, the poets Khaled
Jumaa and Yusuf al-Qadra, the writer
Asmaa al-Ghoul, and the theater director
and director of the Union Gallery Jamal
Abu al-Qumsan, who was beaten and
arrested a few days earlier.
At the end of the interrogation, Saftawi
signed a handwritten pledge accepting
a sentence of six months in prison, and
a fine of one thousand Shekels (250
USD) should other articles be published,
and also signed a brief summary of his
statement.
On the next morning (Friday), Saftawi
received a phone call from a private
number which turned out to be from
the general intelligence, according to the
caller. He was notified that no charges
will be brought against him before
the General Prosecutor, if he remains
confined to his home for at least three
days. Saftawi then asked him, “Do you
mean house arrest?” the caller answered:
“Understand it in any way you like”.
On Saturday, Saftawi wrote about his
summons and house arrest on his
Facebook profile page. Subsequently, the
former artist/interrogator called him on
Sunday, and asked him why he wrote
about the summons and house arrest
on Facebook (which indicates that the
security services affiliated with the Hamas
dismissed government in Gaza spy on
journalists and writers on social media
websites), while the interrogator was not
on Saftawi’s friends list, naturally.
The interrogator denied over the phone
the issue of the call on Friday and the
house arrest request, although as is
known, only the dismissed government
5
of Hamas in Gaza and its secret
services have the ability to mask phone
numbers.
The interrogator then asked Saftawi to
come on the next day. On Monday May
24, after getting in touch with SKeyes’s
lawyer in the Gaza Strip Fatima ‘Ashour,
he went there along with her at half
past two in the afternoon, where a
cordial conversation took place at the
end of which the issue was seemingly
settled.
However, what came as a shock to both
the lawyer and Saftawi afterwards was
that on the eighth of July, Saftawi was
notified through the Press Syndicate
that he must go to Gaza’s Criminal
Prosecutor’s office, as a notification to
this effect was given to the syndicate
on July 7, although it was issued on
the first of July. This is despite the fact
that Saftawi is not a member of the
Syndicate, since he is in the beginning of
his career as a poet and a writer, and is
only twenty one years old.
On Sunday and Monday, Saftawi,
accompanied by SKeyes’s lawyer, went to
the Criminal Prosecutor’s office near the
Abbas police station. Once there, they
learned that the plaintiff is an officer
from the same security service, and that
he had filed a complaint on behalf of
the government regarding the article in
Al-Ayyam. They then confiscated Saftawi’s
identity card, and the new investigator
questioned him about the article and
its details. The lawyer ‘Ashour then
guaranteed a bond of five thousand
shekels (1500 USD) on his behalf, should
he be summoned but fails to appear.
He was asked the same questions about
the article and the satire it uses, why
Al-Ayyam published it, how it was
quoted by other websites and about the
sources for the article. Saftawi responded
by saying, “I am a poet and a writer,
not a journalist, and all people are my
witnesses”. When asked what he meant
when he asked where the taxes went,
he said – supported by his attorney –
that “this is the kind of transparency
demanded of all governments” and
that “it is the right of any citizen to
ask about taxes”. At the end of the
interview, the investigator asked him, “do
you stick to your statements?” to which
Saftawi said “yes”.
It is expected that Saftawi, whose
identity card is still being held, will be
summoned again next week, while it is
feared that he might be indicted and
detained, although he only expressed the
reality of the people and echoes their
questions in his article.

Syria…further crackdown against dissidents!
The Syrian President has completed a
decade as the ruler of Syria in July 2010.
Many international criticisms directed
against the Syrian regime have been
voiced in these ten years, in addition to
countless reports that recorded violations
against the most basic freedoms, the civil
society and human rights. This is not to
mention the systematic persecution of the
Kurdish community, the second largest
ethnicity in the country after the Arabs.
The international community has called on
the Syrian regime to respect human rights
on several occasions.
The second anniversary of the incidents at
the Sednaya prison passed with the Syrian
authorities yet to open an inquiry into
the riots that erupted there on July 5,
2008, killing dozens and injuring a large
number of inmates, mostly Islamists. This
took place after the prison guards used
live ammunition and the special forces
to quell the riots. While the perpetrators
remain at large, the fate of these victims
remains unknown. Hundreds of Syrian
families await an answer from the official
authorities, to clarify the truth about the
fate of their relatives detained in prison.
The release of the leaders of the
Damascus Declaration for Democratic
Change dissident group continued with
the release of writer and journalist Fayez
Sara, Mohamed Haji Darwish, Marwan al-
‘Ish, Riad Seif, and Talal abu Dan, who
all spend two years and a half in prison
after being charged by a Syrian court
of “weakening the national sentiment and
conveying false news that may debilitate
the morale of nation”.
Also, a Syrian court began interviewing the
Syrian dissident Ali al-Abdullah, on charges
brought by the Military Prosecution
against him, namely, “spreading false news
that may debilitate the nation’s morale”
in accordance with Article 286 “damaging
Syrian’s relations with a foreign country”
and Article 287 of the Syrian Penal Code.
This follows statements made by al-
Abdullah from within prison regarding the
Lebanese legislative elections and others
on the Iranian presidential elections to the
AKI Italian news agency.
Al-Abdullah was supposed to be released
from prison along with his colleagues
in the Damascus Declaration leadership;
however, he was referred to the judiciary
again because of the above-mentioned
statements he made while in prison.
Al-Abdullah, who is being detained at the
Damascus Central Prison in Adra, is facing
prison sentences that range from three
to fifteen years, according to the Syrian
Penal Code.
Al-Abdullah had described the Lebanese
elections from prison to be a democratic
wedding, and called on the Syrians to learn
from this experience in order to raise the
6
level of democratic awareness in Syria. He
said: “I call on the Syrian people to learn
from this experience, and compare it to the
situation in Syria, where elections involve
only one side which is the Progressive
National Front and its subsequent control
of the Parliament, and the ensuing fact
that only 2 percent of the seats are up for
grabs by independents…” Al-Abdullah also
said, “The independents have no political,
economic or administrative influence what
so ever over the Syrian public life, let
alone the Parliament which ratifies all the
leadership’s decisions. This is in addition
to the arrests and detention of democracy
advocates and anyone who criticizes the
status quo”.
Then in another statement regarding
the Iranian elections, al-Abdullah said
that the protests in Iran took place in
response to vote rigging, and accused the
Iranian regime of stealing the Iranian
people’s political choice, and also said
that these events have undermined the
Iranian regime’s credibility and claims…
Al-Abdullah said that these protests are
a lesson to all oppressive regimes that
shows the limits of power and hence, the
inevitability of the failure of oppression
and oppression methods. They are also a
lesson to oppressed people that highlight
the significance of relying on their own
and being united in the face of oppression
and that only though seriousness, holding
on to their rights and sacrifice can they
bring about the desired change.
However, what shattered all expectations
was the ruling by a Syrian military
tribunal that sentenced the most senior
Syrian human rights activist, the lawyer
Hatham al-Maleh (79 years old), to three Prosecutor’s office. The three leaders are the city of Idleb, against the backdrop
years in prison after being convicted of facing charges of “belonging to a secret of his activities in the above-mentioned
“spreading false news that may debilitate organization aiming at annexing a part organization.
the nation’s morale” in accordance with of Syria to a foreign country”. This count
Article 286 of the Syrian Penal Code. This is punishable by provisional arrest for at The offices of the AKI Italian news agency
is despite the fact that many international least five years. In addition, the trial of the headed by Bassel Hussein al-Awadat were
organizations denounced this sentence, leading figure at the Kurdish Azadi Party closed down. Also, the International Syrian
in parallel with condemnations issued by in Syria, Mohammed Sa’adoun, continued Academy for Training and Development
the United States and several European before a military court. were also closed down, without any
countries. However, al-Maleh’s old age did The Kudrish citizen Hanan abdul-Qar clarifications. The academy was affiliated
not vouch for him, and neither did the Mahmoud was revealed to have died, with the Qatari television station Al-
international condemnations and appeals. after being arrested for nearly 43 days by Jazeera.
It should be mentioned that he suffers the Aerial Intelligence branch. His family
from several conditions including diabetes received his body and buried hum in his The Arab Writers Union in Syria banned
and hyperthyroidism. village, which is located near the city of the novel “Sayyed al-Hawama” written by
Al-Maleh has a law degree and a diploma Kubani in the province of Aleppo, where the novelist Abdel Nasser Abed. The ban
in international law. He was arrested for Hanan was arrested last May. was ordered after the Reading Committee
six years between 1980 and 1986, along The First Investigating Judge in Damascus found it to contain “incitement for strife,
with a number of trade unionists, political issued an arrest warrant against the glorification of the Persian race and
activists and dissenters. He was a co- dissident activist Mahmoud Barish, and contempt of other races, in addition to
founder of the Human Rights Association gave instructions to place him in the containing a racist undertone”. The novel
in Syria (HRAS). Damascus Central Prison in Adra, following goes deep into history to understand the
Meanwhile, the trial of three leaders in his questioning on the charges brought persona motivations and desires of Hassan
the Kurdish Yekiti Party in Syria continued, against him by the Prosecution against the al-Sabbah, the founder of the Assassins
before the Supreme State Security Court backdrop of his activities in the Damascus cult, starting with his childhood and
in Damascus, and was subsequently Declaration group. Barish was subsequently ending with his death in the famed castle
adjourned at the request of the General arrested by the State Security branch in in Alamut.

THE PRESS AND THE JUDICIARY
The Press and Judiciary section continues shedding light on incidents related to the
freedom of expression during the last three months, May, June and July.
• May – the Lebanese Court of Publications sentenced the journalist Fares Khashan
and former Ambassador Johnny Abdo to one month in prison in the course of
the case brought by the Prosecutor of Appeals against them, on counts of slander
and libel against the former President Emile Lahoud. This is against the backdrop
of an interview conducted with Abdo by Khashan in February, 2006. The court’s
ruling also fined the managing director at Al-Mustaqbal newspaper Tawfiq Khattab
50 million Lebanese pounds.
It should be mentioned here that the sentence was issued in absentia against Abdo and
Khashan, while the ruling was issued in the presence of Khattab. The sentence may be
appealed before the Court of Cassation.
- The Lebanese Court of Publications issued its ruling in the case brought against the
Daily Star newspaper, its chief executive Jamil Mroue and its columnist Jim Quilty. The
court sentenced both men six million Lebanese pounds, on counts of slander, libel and
defamation, and fabricating false news and accusations against Senator Productions
and Nabil Joseph ‘Abs, and also forced them to pay one million Lebanese pounds as
compensation to the plaintiffs.
- The concert performance of the Palestinian Oud and Bouzouki player Khaled Jubran
was postponed to five days after its scheduled date at the Sun Flower Theatre
(part of the performances of the Spring Festival). This took place as a result of
the delay in issuing him a visa, which again raised the subject of the problems in
entering Lebanon faced by intellectuals and artists from the Palestinians living in the
territories of 1948, and brought it back to the limelight.
- Al-Muharrir magazine was sentenced by the Court of Publications to pay a fine in the
course of the case brought by the poet Ghada Samman, for slander and libel against
her contained in an article published by the magazine in 2006. The court fined the
executives in the magazine one million Lebanese pounds, and forced them, along
with the Al-Muharrir Al-Arabi Press and Publication Company represented by Nuhad
al-Ghadri, to pay the plaintiff jointly and severally one million Lebanese pounds as
personal compensation.
- The Court of Publications fined Al-Mustaqbal newspaper in the course of the case
brought by Major General Jamil Sayyed against the newspaper’s managing director
Tawfiq Khattab, and against Ayman Sharrouf, Abdul-Salam Moussa and the United Arab
Press Corporation, the publisher of Al-Mustaqbal, for libel and slander against him.
This is against the backdrop of an article published in the newspaper on January 28
last year.
- The sentence – which can be appealed – fined the above mentioned colleagues six
million Lebanese pounds each, and forced them jointly and severally with the United
Arab Press Corporation to pay the plaintiff 15 million Lebanese pounds as personal
compensation.
7
- The Al-Jadid TV station’s crew, comprised of the correspondent Darine Daabous and
cameraman Mohammad Kalakesh, was assaulted and had its camera destroyed by
members from Amal and Hezbollah in the Humin al-Fawqa region in the district
of Nabatiya, while covering the municipal elections in South Lebanon. None of the
assailants were prosecuted, while Al-Jadid received calls from politicians to not
mention the incident in the media.
- The Q&A interrogation accounts were referred in the course of the lawsuit filed by
the leader of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea against the Chairman of the Board
of Directors of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) Pierre Daher, along with
Salah Osseiran, Marwan Khaireddine, Randa Daher, Maroun Jazzar, Marcel Daher and
Rula Saad, on counts of embezzlement and transferring funds abroad. It was decided
that the investigations in the case have ended.
- The investigation continued in the case brought by the Deputy Secretary General of
Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem, against Al-Liwaa newspaper on counts of defamation
and incitement, against the backdrop of the questions voiced by the newspaper
regarding the Ethiopian airline plane crash.
• June – the month witnessed a serious escalation in the violations witnessed in
Lebanon against journalists and cultural freedoms, when the security services
breeched their legal purviews and stepped over the boundaries usually respected
when dealing journalists and intellectuals. Also, more assaults, verbal abuse, and
confiscation of press material took place in separate incidents, while a famous
theatre was raided in Beirut, leading to wide condemnation both by press outlets
and human rights organizations.
The second of June also marked the fifth anniversary of the assassination of the Lebanese
journalist Samir Kassir. The anniversary passed while the killers are yet to be revealed,
which raises many questions regarding the investigation, and the reasons behind such a
delay in finding the parties involved in the assassination
• July – The defendants in the case of contempt of, and slander and libel against
the President on the Facebook service were released.
- The Lebanese security services asked the Syrian dissident Mamoun Homsi to leave
Lebanon after he was refused renewal of his residence permit. Homsi said that he
“discovered that the issue of human rights and democracy is a big game that becomes
a pressure card among governments” and pointed out that there is no justification
for these measures against him as he did not violate the Lebanese constitution. He
attributed this measure to the current Lebanese-Syrian reconciliation.
- A warning to the media “not to publish any leaked information regarding the
international investigation into the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in
particular the information that suggest that Hezbollah members may be involved”.
The press corps and the media sphere denounced this warning, in addition to
denouncing the Order of Journalists’ efforts to amend the publications law, and the
proposal of a Parliamentary Subcommittee to enact a law on regulating electronic
transactions.

TheThe SKeyesof Palestinian
Lenses Report on media and cultural
Journalists violations for
in the Crosshairs July, 2010
of Israeli Bullets
SKeyes recorded a number of incidents involving media and cultural
freedoms in the four countries covered by SKeyes (Lebanon, Syria,
Palestine and Jordan.)
The incidents are detailed as follows:
1 - Lebanon:
The month of July saw several incidents involving the freedom of expression, including
the release of those involved in the offense of “holding the President in contempt, and
libel and slander against him” through the Facebook service, the complaint brought by
the President of the Press Club Youssef Howayek against the Order of Journalists before
the Interim Relief Judge, the request by the General Security authority to the Syrian
dissident Mamoun Homsi to leave Lebanon after refusing to renew his residence permit,
the publication of a warning aimed at journalists to “not publish any leaks regarding the
international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in
particular those that suggest members from Hezbollah are involved. This in addition to
the protests held in solidarity with Fairouz after she was banned from performing her
play at the Casino du Liban.
(2/7) The Defendants in the offense involving the contempt of the President released
The examining magistrate in Beirut Ghassan Oweidat approved the request to
release the defendants in the offense of holding the President in contempt
through the Facebook service. Their names are: Naim Hanna, Antoine Ramia,
and Charbel Qassab. They were released on bail set at one hundred thousand
Lebanese pounds each. They will be later referred to the High Sectional Judge in
Beirut for trial. At a later time, (28/7), Ahmad Shuman was questioned on the
same charge, and was also released on bail.
It should be mentioned here that their arrest took place on the basis of the
Penal Code, and not the Law on the Press and Publications, as the individuals
arrested and prosecuted are not journalists. The Lebanese law does not explicitly
include the internet as a means of publication; instead, it qualifies as a ‘public
place’.
In this context, Article 384 of the Penal Code, issued 67 years ago, stipulates
that “whoever holds the President of the Republic in contempt is punishable by
imprisonment from six months to two years”. The law defines contempt as the
one taking place through “speech, movement, writing, drawing, or telephoning
and messaging”.
As for the mediums where such slander, libel and defamation may take place,
these are specified by the Penal Code in Article 209 under the title of “The
Mediums of Publications”, which are:
Acts and deeds that take place in a public place or a place that is accessible
to the public or exposed to it.
Talking or shouting, whether overtly or by being quoted through other means, in
a manner that it is heard by someone(s) not directly partaking in the act.
Writings, drawings, drafts, photograph, signs, and illustrations, in any form,
should they be displayed in a public place, or a place that is accessible to the
public or exposed to it, or sold or offered for sale or distributed to one or
more persons.
(15/7) The Lebanese General Security asks a Syrian dissident to leave the Lebanese
8
territory
The Lebanese General Security authority requested Mamoun Homsi, the former
Syrian MP who is in asylum in Beirut, to leave the country by July 30, after
refusing to renew his residence permit.
In a statement he gave to SKeyes, Homsi said, “I will go to Syria. I will bear
all the consequences and I might be imprisoned. This is part of my message,
where I discovered that the issue of human rights and democracy is a big game
that becomes a pressure card among governments”. Homsi said that there is no
justification for this measure, as he did not violate the Lebanese constitution,
and did not exceed his limits as a guest in Lebanon. He attributed this measure
to the current Lebanese-Syrian reconciliation and added, “The refugee should not
be a mail package. It is a humanitarian situation and the United Nations must
respect this right”. [Sic]
(20/7) A warning to journalists: “Do not publish, as death awaits you”.
A local newspaper published a statement, citing an unknown ‘security source’,
“calling on journalists not to publish leaked information regarding the
international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri, in particular those that refer to the possible involvement of Hezbollah
members in the assassination.” The Security official further elaborated his advice
by saying that “the group in question is able to reach anybody, and can kill
any individual that gets involved in this issue”. Subsequently, several NGOs and
groups concerned with the freedom of expression referred this to the security
services and the relevant judicial authorities, as it falls under the context of
intellectual terrorism aimed at stifling free voices and taming the press corps.
(26/7) Protests in solidarity with Fairouz, after she was banned from performing a
play
The Lebanese singer Fairouz was banned from performing one of the works
of the brothers Assi and Mansour Rahbani at the Casino du Liban, after an
injunction was issued on behalf of the heirs of Manour who requested that they
be consulted first before performing any works by the Rahbani brothers, and be
paid their due royalties. Subsequently, fans of Fairouz held peaceful protests in
Beirut and several Arab capitals, to protest the ban.
(28/7) The interim relief judge summons the members of the Board of Directors of the
Order of Journalists
Following the request of the journalist Youssef Howayek, the interim relief judge
in Beirut Nadim Zuwein sent a notice to the following members of the Board
of Directors of the Order of Journalists: Joseph Maroun Qusseifi, Said Nasser
Al-Din, Ali Ibrahim Yousef, Nasim Riad Dabliz, Arafat Mohamed Hijazi, Mounir
Youssef Tanios al-Najjar, Habib Nabih Shallouk, Abdo Fouad Chakhtoura, Ghasseb
Muhammad Salah al-Mukhtar and Muhammad Nafez Faysal Qawwas and handed
them a copy of the summons made by the Youssef Hanna Howayek, involving an
order on a petition. The judge asked them to comply within one week.
The order on the petition mentions that “the statuses of the mentioned members
at the order violate the law and the provisions of articles 1 and 19 of the
order’s basic bylaws, in particular in terms of the ownership of publications or
holding the post of managing director at said publications by these members.
This is in addition to the fact that the two articles mentioned above prevent
anyone in such capacities to be a member of the order, let alone of its board
of directors”.
Syria
The month of July closed on a number of incidents involving the media and the human
rights community in Syria. While the month started with news of the release of writer and
journalist Fayez Sara after the end of his sentence, the previous pace of incidents returned,
and the usual somber atmosphere prevailed once again. The news of the death of a Kurdish
citizen under torture came as a real shock, added to the list of other shocking news,
such as the three year sentence against the most senior Syrian human rights activists, in
addition to other incidents:
- The Syrian authorities release the leaders of the General Secretariat of the Damascus
Declaration
The Syrian authorities released several members of the Damascus Decalaration, including
the writer and journalist Fayez Sara (5/7), Mohamed Haji Darwish (7/7), Marwan al-Ish
(15/7), Riad Seif - the chairman of the Declaration’s committee- (28/7) and Talal Abu
Dan (30/7).
The Syrian authorities had begun releasing the detainees of the Damascus Declaration on
13/6/2010, by releasing Akram al-Bunni, Ahmad Tohme, and Jabr al-Shufi. Dr. Fidaa Hourani

The SKeyes Report on media and cultural violations for July, 2010
was then released on 16/6/2010, and then on 17/6/2010, the Syrian authorities released
Walid al-Bunni and Yasser al-Iti. This is while Ali al-Abdullah was kept in custody over
another count brought against him two months before the end of his sentence.
It should be mentioned here that the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National
Change is a Syrian opposition coalition that was founded in Syria on 16/10/2005. It is
made up of Arab and Kurdish parties, in addition to independent political and intellectual
figures. It calls for peaceful democratic change in Syria.
(5/7) Kurdish citizen dies under torture
The Syrian Kurdish citizen Hanan Abdul-Qar Mahmoud died under torture, at
the hands of officers from the Air Intelligence Branch in Damascus, after being
detained for nearly 43 days by the same security agency.
Mahmoud (27 years old), who is a father, was arrested on 15/5/2010 at his
home in the city of Kubani – Aleppo, by a patrol of the Air Intelligence Branch,
and was subsequently taken to Damascus. All news about him then ceased,
until his parents were summoned and informed that their son had died during
detention because of his health condition. They were forced to write a pledge
not to examine the body and to bury him in the same condition in which they
received him. Mahmoud’s parents, who received his body on 28/6/2010, learned
that he died shortly after he was arrested inside the Air Intelligence building.
His body had been placed in a hospital in the capital for a period of twenty
days to conceal the traces of torture.
(4/7) Syrian military court sentences senior human rights activist and jurist Haitham
al Maleh, to three-year in prison
The Second Penal Military Court sentenced the Syrian lawyer and human rights
activist Haitham al-Maleh to three years in prison, on counts of “spreading false
news that may debilitate the morale of the nation”, in addition to dropping the
public order case against him on counts of “holding the court in contempt and
spreading false news abroad that may undermine the standing of the state”.
(7/7) the Syrian security services arrest Mahmoud Barish, the Damascus Declaration
activist
The State Security branch in the city of Idleb arrested the activist Mahmoud
Hussein Barish, against the backdrop of his affiliations to the Damascus
Declaration for Democratic National Change, an opposition group. This comes
after repeated summonses from this security service. On 15/7, the examining
magistrate decided to deposit him at the Damascus Central Prison.
(7/7) The Kurdish activist and poet Abdul-Hafiz Abdul-Rahman referred for trial before
a military court
The Kurdish activist and poet Abdul-Hafiz Abdul-Rahman was referred to the
military judiciary, nearly four months after he was arbitrarily arrested by the
Military Security branch in the city of Aleppo. Abdul-Rahman is due to appear
before the Sectional Military Judge in Aleppo on 26/8/2010.
Abdul-Rahman was arrested on 2/3/2010, after his home was raided by a
security patrol. The patrol searched his home and confiscated his books and
some of his poetic manuscripts, in addition to his data disks, his mobile phone
and some publications issued by the Human Rights Organization in Syria (MAF)
(10/7) The Syrian authorities close down the offices of the AKI Italian news agency
The Syrian authorities closed down the offices of the Italian news agency AKI,
without specifying the reason.
A journalist from Damascus who declined to be named said that the Italian news
agency AKI is licensed to operate in Syria, having obtained a permit from the
9
Syrian information ministry and other relevant authorities.
He added that “there are no direct reasons why AKI’s offices were closed down,
as the agency operates similarly to all other licensed agencies. However, AKI has
been focusing its coverage on the Syrian opposition, publishing its statements
and news on regular basis”.
(11/7) Syrian writer and activist Ali al-Abdullah questioned before a military court in
Damacus
The Third Military Examining Magistrate in Damascus questioned the dissident
Syrian writer and activist Ali al-Abdullah on the charges brought against him by
the military prosecution office, namely, “spreading false news that may debilitate
the morale of the nation, and damaging the state’s relation with a foreign
country”. Al-Abdullah was due to be released on 17/6/2010, after serving his
two years and a half sentence. He had been sentenced to prison along with a
number of the Damascus Declaration group leaders. However, an arrest warrant
was issued against him, and he was subsequently remanded in custody.
(11/7) the Kurdish leader Mohamed Saadoun questioned before the third military
investigating judge in Aleppo
The leader in the Kurdish Azadi Party in Syria, Mohamed Abdi Saadoun, appeared
before the third military investigating judge in a questioning session. He was
charged with the offense of “breaching the measures taken by the state to
preserve its neutrality in war, and engaging in actions, writings or speeches
unapproved by the state, subjecting Syria as a result to the threat of subversive
attacks or damaging its relations with a foreign country, and/or subjecting
Syrians to retaliatory measures”. This is in accordance with Article 278 of the
Syrian Penal Code.
(19/7) The Arab Writers Union in Syria bans the novel “Sayyed al-Hawama”
The Syrian authorities banned the second novel written by the Syrian writer
Nasser Ayyed, entitled “Sayyed al-Hawama”, from circulation in Syria.
In a statement he gave to the website “We Are All Partners”, Ayyed said, “the
decision to ban the book was taken by the reading commission which found the
book to contain incitement for strife, glorification of the Persian race, contempt
of other ethnicities, and a racist tone”. Ayyed then added that these remarks
were communicated to him by the Chairman of the Union Hussein Jumaa while
he was reviewing it, and that other remarks on the book included “[the book
contains] an offensive account of Hassan al-Sabbah”.
(20/7) The Second Session of the trial of Kurdish leaders convenes before the Supreme
State Security Court in Damascus
The Emergency State Security Court in Syria held its second session in the
course of the trial of the Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission and the
member of the Political Committee of the Yakiti Kurdish Party in Syria Hassan
Saleh, in addition to Mohammed Mustafa and Maarouf Mulla Ahmad, who are also
members of the party’s political committee. The first session which was scheduled
on 6/6/2010 was adjourned after the delegate of the Bar Association failed to be
present to represent the detainee Mohammed Mustafa. The session was adjourned
to 19/10/2010 at the request of the General Prosecutor.
The West Bank
The month of July witnessed several violations against freedoms in the West Bank. Perhaps
the most dangerous of these incidents was the threat to shut down 18 radio and television
stations unless they settle their legal issues, the military sentence against the journalist
Amer Abu Arfeh, and the raid against Al-Watan TV station.
These incidents and others were perpetrated by the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, Israel
waged a cultural and educational war against the Palestinian prisoners, fired gas canisters
and rubber bullets at photojournalists and injured ten, in addition to arresting, deporting
and assaulting foreign activists protesting against the racial separation wall in several
Palestinian villages.
(4/7) Al-Quds’s photographer injured in a protest at Beit Jala
The Israeli forces injured the photographer working for Al-Quds newspaper
Mahmoud Alian with a gas canister aimed directly at his head, while a foreign
activist was injured and hospitalized. However, her identity was kept secret for
fear that the Israeli authorities might deport her and ban her from entering the
Palestinian territories. This took place during the peaceful march that started
after Sunday Mass in the town of Beit Jala near Bethlehem, to protest the
construction of new parts of the racial separation barrier in implementation of
the plans for Greater Jerusalem.
(10/7) Israeli forces hit the photographer Nasser Shyoukhi with a gas canister

The SKeyes Report on media and cultural violations for July, 2010
The Israeli forces hit the photographer working for the Associated Press Nasser
Shyoukhi with a can canister in his back, and prevented him from receiving first
aid. This took place during the protest that erupted in the town of Beit Amr
against the confiscation of the village’s lands for the construction of settlements
and the wall.
Shyoukhi said, “The primary objective of the Israeli soldiers in every protest is
to target photojournalists to prevent them from covering the marches of the
residents against the construction of settlements and the wall”.
(17/7) photojournalists detained, others injured, in the town of Beit Amr in Hebron
Israeli soldiers wounded the photographer working for Reuters Abdul-Rahim al-
Qusini with a stun grenade fired at his back, causing him a ruptured eardrum
and hearing nerve damage. They also severely assaulted the photographer
working for AFP Hazem Badr, who was subsequently hospitalized. The soldiers
also arrested the photographer working for AP Iyad Hamad for several hours.
This took place while the journalists were covering the weekly demonstration
against the wall and settlements in the town of Beit Amr.
(17/7) Palestinian Security services prevent Hizb-u-Tahrir from holding its conference
and detain its supporters
The Palestinian security services prevented the Hizb-u-Tahrir party from holding
a conference to commemorate the anniversary of the collapse of the Islamic
Caliphate, and detained hundreds of the party’s supporters. The media office of
the party estimated the number of those detained to be nearly a thousand.
Later on at night, dozens of detainees were released, while hundreds were kept
in custody.
(17/7) The Palestinian Intelligence Service raids Al-Watan TV station
Members of the Security Services raided the headquarters of Al-Watan TV station
in the city of Ramallah, without any legal justifications.
According to the station’s General Director Moammar Orabi, members of the
intelligence service raided the station’s offices, and confiscated the ID cards of
the station’s correspondents Fares al-Maliki and Aysar al-Barghouthi as a prelude
to arresting them, while also confiscating cameras and films that contained
coverage of the security services’ crackdown on Hizb-u-Tahrir’s conference.
(24/7) One photojournalist and one British activist wounded in the town of Beit Amr
The Israeli forces wounded the photographer working for Middle East News Najeh
al-Hashlamoun with a gas canister fired at his back, while a 21 year old British
journalist was injured after being hit with a stun grenade in her head, and a
gas canister in her back. This took place during the peaceful march that started
in the town of Beit Amer, in protest of the confiscation of 16 dunums of the
town’s land for the Israeli settlement of Karmi Tsur.
(25/7) The Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunications warns 18 stations to stop
broadcasting
The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology of the Palestinian
Authority sent a warning to 18 stations to strop broadcasting temporarily, until
their outstanding legal issues are settled, or face being completely shut down
and having their allocated frequencies withdrawn should they fail to comply
with the notice.
(26/7) journalist Abu Arfe sentenced to three months in prison
The Palestinian Military Court sentenced the journalist Amer Abu Arfeh to three
months in prison and fined him 500 Jordanian dinars, on counts of “opposing
the authority’s public policy”. Abu Arfeh was tortured in prison and questioned
intensively, causing his health to deteriorate as a result of mistreatment.
(26/7) Israeli settlers attack journalists in the village of Burin
A group of Israeli settlers attacked the photographer of AFP Jaafar Eshtiyeh
and the correspondent of the Wafa News Agency Ayman al-Nubani in the village
of Burin, south of Nablus.
(28/7) The Palestinian intelligence services arrest a journalist three days after his
release by the Israeli forces
The Palestinian intelligence services arrested the journalist Mohammed Mona
three days after the Israeli forces released him. Members of the Palestinian
intelligence raided his home after midnight, confiscating his ID card and telling
him to come to the services’ headquarters on the next morning. Upon going
there, he was arrested and transferred to the Juneid prison in Nablus, and was
denied visitation rights for one week after his arrest.
(31/7) Two photojournalists injured in the town of Beit Amr
The photographer of the Palmedia agency Amer Abdin suffered severe bruises,
after being directly targeted with three gas canisters by the Israeli forces, hitting
several parts of his body. This is while the photographer of the European Agency
Abdul-Hafiz al-Hashlamoun was assaulted by Israeli soldiers. This took place as
10
both photojournalists were covering the weekly march against the settlement in
the town of Beit Amr.
The Gaza Strip
Violations involving the media and cultural scene in the Gaza Strip continued unabated
during July, peaking with the summons against the novelist Atef Abu Seif, following which
he was detained and severely battered. This is in addition to the long series of summonses
against the poet and writer As’af Saftawi. The incidents are detailed as follows:
(7/7) the newspapers Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Al-Ayyam and Al-Quds banned in Gaza
Hamas banned the three daily newspapers Al-Haya Al-Jadida, Al-Ayyam and
Al-Quds from circulation in the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli authorities allowed
them into the Strip, after lifting a ban imposed since late 2008.
(8/7) Journalist Tamim Moammar banned from traveling, his passport confiscated
The dismissed Hamas government in the Gaza Strip banned the journalist
Tamim Moammar, who works for the Voice of Palestine and lives in Khan Yunis,
from travelling through the Rafah crossing. The Palestinian Order of Journalists
explained the measure in a statement it issued, by saying that Moammar received
a notification from the Interior Security Service affiliated to Hamas banning him
from traveling to Egypt through the Rafah crossing, to pursue a master’s degree.
This is despite the fact that he had obtained prior permission from the dismissed
government’s Interior Ministry allowing him to leave.
(13/7) Journalists detained while covering a march held by Hibz-u-Tahrir
The police affiliated with the dismissed government of Hamas in Gaza detained
the photographer working for AFP the journalist Mohammed Baba, along with a
number of journalists, while they were covering the march held by Hibz-u-Tahrir
in the Maqousi area in the northern Gaza Strip.
The journalists said they were shocked by the manner in which their cameras
and computers were confiscated. They were then dragged to the Shatee police
station and the contents of their cameras were examined, before being forced to
sign a pledge not to publish any images of the march.
(21/7) novelist Atef Abu Seif arrested and assaulted
The writer and novelist Atef Abu Seif was battered and detained for several
hours at the hands of a member of the Interior Security Service affiliated to the
dismissed government of Hamas in Gaza.
Abu Seif said that the security service sent a summons to his family’s house in
the Jabalya refugee camp on July 20. He then went on the next morning to
the service’s offices in Jabalya, where, upon arriving, he was suddenly blindfolded
and taken inside, and placed temporarily in a cell for half an hour. He was then
taken to the backyard, and placed in a small toilet (3x1 meters) where he was
kept in solitary confinement until nine o’clock in the evening.
(22/7) The Women Information and Media Centre raided, its accounts frozen
Three individuals who claimed to be from the Investigation Police, the Ministry
of Economy and the Ministry of Interior in the Hamas dismissed government
in Gaza, dressed in civilian clothes, raided the Women Information and Media
Centre, after showing a judicial order to requisition the contents of the Centre.
(28/7) the headquarters of the Order of Journalists in Gaza raided, one of its computers
stolen
The Order of Journalists in Palestine announced that unknown assailants have
broken into its offices in Gaza City, and stole a computer that was being used
for administrative purposes.

The SKeyes Report on media and cultural violations for July, 2010
The Territories of 1948
The Israeli authorities escalated the pace of its violations against journalists, artists, and
human rights activists during the month of July, most notably arresting the Golani artist
Fidaa al-Sha’er at Ben Gurion Airport, along with his father, mother and brother two
days later. They were all charged with “meeting a foreign agent, espionage, and aiding
the enemy in times of war”. Other violations include the police summoning the journalist
Emad Meri for questioning; he is the editor of the website Baladi, which covers the affairs
of the Golan Heights. This is while the artists Walaa Subeit and Joan Safadi were subjected
to a campaign of racist incitement, which also targeted Shams Radio amid calls to shut
it down.
(5/7) An Israeli campaign of racist incitement against artists Joan Safadi and Walaa
Subeit
The artists Walaa Subeit and Joan Safadi were subjected to an Israeli campaign
of racist incitement, which portrayed them as extremists who support terrorism.
Officials from the municipality of Haifa had stopped an artistic performance
by Subeit and Safadi on June 24, 2010, on the pretext that a part of the
audience “was offended by the performance which some found to be inciting
for terrorism”. A week later, a news report was published for the first time in
the Zaman Haifa supplement of Ma’ariv, and also on Ma’ariv’s website in the
Haifa section on July 5, portraying Safadi and Subeit as extremists who support
terrorism.
(11/7) The Israeli police arrest the artist Fidaa al-Sha’er on charges of espionage
The regional unit of the International Investigation Bureau and the Shin Bet,
both Israeli security services, arrested the Golani artist Fidaa al-Sha’er at Ben
Gurion Airport, after his return from Paris. The Israeli authorities imposed a
blanket ban on the details of the case, and only allowed the publication of the
charges made against him which are “meeting with a foreign agent, espionage
and aiding the enemy in times of war”. The Magistrate Court then extended
the period of his detention to seven days pending investigation, and imposed
an injunction banning him from meeting with his lawyer. Then on (14 / 7), the
police arrested his father Majed at the workshop in Tel Aviv where he works. The
Magistrate Court extended his detention for an additional seven days pending the
investigation, imposed an injunction banning him from meeting with his lawyer,
and imposed a blanket ban on the details of the case, once again allowing only
the charges made against him to be published, the same charges made against
his son Fidaa. His detention was then further extended by seven days on 22/7.
On (19/7), the Magistrate Court extended the detention of Fidaa by ten days
pending investigation. On (29/7), the police arrested his brother Farhan and
took him from his work place after charging him with assaulting a policeman,
obstructing police work, and causing damages to police vehicles during the
clashes that erupted in front of the house.
On the same afternoon, the Magistrate Court ordered the release of his mother
Mona, after she was arrested by the police (26/7) for the same charges made
against her son Fidaa and her husband Majed, making her the fourth member
of the same family to be arrested. Also, a young man from Baqat-el-Gharbieh
was arrested in the course of the same case.
(21/7) The Knesset extends the validity of the racist Citizenship Act for another six
month
The General Assembly of the Israeli Knesset approved the extension of the
emergency regulations of the Citizenship Act for an additional period of six
months. This act affects 25 thousand Palestinian Arab families on both sides of
the Green Line and in the countries that Israel considers to be ‘enemy states’
(Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, Iran, etc.) Under this act, Israeli citizenship or
residence cards are withheld from the Palestinians from the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip, even if they are married to Israeli citizens on security-related
pretexts. Several human rights organizations described the bill as being the most
racist and dangerous in Israel in recent years.
(25/7) The Israeli police summons the journalist Emad Meri for questioning
The Israeli police summoned Emad Meri, the editor of the website Baladi which
covers the issues of the Golan Heights, for questioning at the Kitzrin police
station. His questioning lasted seven hours, on suspicion of planning to attack
the police during the clashes that erupted in front of the home of the artist
Fidaa al-Sha’er. The home had been surrounded by Israeli forces and raided two
weeks earlier in the village of Majdal Shams, events that were covered by Meri.
Jordan
The record of violations involving the media and cultural scenes in Jordan witnessed some
relative calm in July 2010, in comparison with previous months. The most important
11
violations include the prevention of public sector employees to browse electronic news
sites during office hours, the ban on publishing news on the army and retired servicemen
before consulting the Directorate of Guidance, the arrest of a student on counts of using
an instant messaging service to insult the king, while the issue of the sacking of the
editor of Al-Ghad Moussa Barhoumeh continued to escalate, in particular after he accused
the government of putting pressure on the newspaper’s publisher to dismiss him. These
violations are detailed as follows:
(12/7) Ban imposed on publishing any news related to the army and the retired
servicemen
The Directorate of Moral Guidance in the Jordanian army circulated a memo
banning the media from publishing any news related to the army, its institutions
and its retired servicemen and threatened those who fail to comply with legal
prosecution. This follows the publication of two statements in the media issued
by a number of retired officers calling themselves ‘the national committee for
retired servicemen’. In the statements, they tackled the issues of corruption, the
elections and citizens of Palestinian origin, causing uproar and controversy in
Jordan regarding the issue of national identity.
(14/7) Student who used an instant messaging service to insult the King arrested
The State Security Court sentenced a university student studying computer
engineering at a private university to two years in prison, after he was found
guilty of sending insulting messages through the online ‘messenger’ service
involving the king, and inciting sectarian and racist strife. This is the first
time that a Jordanian citizen is prosecuted against the backdrop of using the
[internet] messenger service.
(17/7) the sacking of the editor of Al-Ghad Moussa Barhoumeh denounced
The Jordanian Writers Association denounced the sacking of the chief editor
of Al-Ghad daily newspaper Moussa Barhoumeh, which it deemed to be a
dangerous precedent. The head of the association Saoud Qubeilat sent a letter
to the newspaper’s publisher Mohammed Olayan, in which he stressed that the
association considers the decision to sack Barhoumeh “a violation of employee
rights and the freedom of expression, and a dangerous precedent”. In the letter,
Qubeilat also demanded that the colleague Barhoumeh be reinstated”.
In an exclusive interview conducted by SKeyes with Barhoumeh, he accused the
Jordanian government of pressuring the newspaper’s publisher to sack him, and
denied that this took place as a result of personal disagreements. Barhoumeh
said that the decision to sack him was taken after immense pressure and the
direct intervention of the Prime Minister, adding that “the government wants
to stifle voices and tame all institutions, to transform daily newspapers into
governmental mouthpieces and to put an end to the independent press”. He also
said that “the government was angered by Al-Ghad’s coverage of the teachers’
strike and the issue of day laborers, and also of the judges’ protests against the
law of judicial independence, the electoral law, and recently, the government’s
decision to impose value added taxes.”
(29/7) Public sector employees banned from browsing news sites during office hours
The Jordanian government banned the public sectors employees from browsing
a number of electronic news sites on the pretext of maintaining productivity. An
official government source said that the memo to this effect “did not target any
particular news website”, noting that “it is the right of the employees to browse
any websites they choose outside of office hours”.

Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Sagheih Bldg. Ground Floor, Str. 63, Al-Zahrani, Seiofi, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel:/Fax: 00961 1 397334
Israeli piracy against the Freedom Flotilla…Murder,
theft, and confiscation of passports
The West Bank – SKeyes
Nearly two months after the Freedom
Flotilla Massacre, in which the Israeli
forces killed eight Turkish activists
and another Turkish-American activist,
the Israeli government continued to
withhold hundreds of passports and
effects that belong to the foreign
activists it kidnapped on May 31.
Using hundreds of mobile phones,
laptops and camera, the activists had
documented the assault against their
ships and the murders in the high
seas off the coast of Gaza. However,
all their recordings ended up being
confiscated by the Israeli government,
which insisted on not returning these
devices and other effects to their
owners. This is despite the fact that
the International Solidarity Movement
said that the activists will push
their embassies and consulates to
follow up this issue with the Israeli
government.
To date, the Israeli forces continue to
impound the ships of the Freedom
Flotilla (seven ships), and their cargo
of humanitarian aid which exceeds
ten thousand tons of aid. In recent
days, several Israeli media outlets
reported that the Israeli government
has buried the cargo in the Ashdod
region, where the Israeli nuclear
reactor is located.
While the electronic devices are
tantamount to exhibits that attest
to the Israeli crime, the Israeli
government considers these to be
means of protection, so that no more
photographic evidence to the massacre
it perpetrated remains for the world
to see. The Israeli government also
insists on impounding the credit
cards of tens of activists, and has
surprisingly been stealing money from
their accounts.
Despite the uproar this has caused
among the activists, fear remains
their primary emotion, as reports
are talking about the theft of tens
of passports belonging to different
nationalities. The cause of this fear
is the Israeli policy is based on
assassination and physical liquidation
of Palestinian resistance fighters, using
foreign passports, such as in the case
of the assassination of the Hamas
leader Mahmoud Abbas in Dubai
last February, using stolen European
passports.
The European Campaign to End the
Siege on Gaza (ECESG) – one of the
“the Contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Samir Kassir Foundation and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union”.
Email: info@skeyesmedia.org
main bodies of the Freedom Flotilla
Coalition – documented the theft of
more than 31 passports belonging
to the foreign activists that were on
board the Freedom Flotilla.
ECESG warned that the Mossad Israeli
intelligence service may use the
passports in new Israeli crimes, which
means implicating innocent people in
addition to certain European countries
in possible murders. The European
countries that received complaints
from their citizens regarding the
theft of their passports thus stressed
the need to raise this issue at the
highest levels possible, and not to
overlook it.
According to the Free Gaza Campaign
coordinator Howayda Arraf, who was
on board the Freedom Flotilla, and
who also is one of the founders of
the International Solidarity Movement,
“The Israeli government insists on
confiscating our belongings, we the
foreign activists, even after we have
been released”
Arraf is a United States citizen. She
was arrested on board the flotilla
and was detained for three days in
bad conditions. Upon her release, the
Israeli forces refused to return her
laptop, camera and mobile phones.
She said, “Several days ago, I filed a
complaint before the Israeli courts to
recover my effects.
I am still waiting for the first session
to be held in this case. I know for
certain that they will not return
our effects, we the activists. At best,
all the pictures and materials that
documented the massacre perpetrated
by the soldiers will be deleted to hide
any damning evidence against Israel,
before returning our belongings”.
The International Solidarity Movement
has documented hundreds of
complaints regarding confiscated
effects and passports belonging to
12
the activists. However, the movement
stresses that “the total tally is not
final or complete yet, as Israel
has deported the activists to their
countries. This makes it hard for the
movement to file complaints before
the Israeli courts.”
Regarding the issue of the money
stolen from bank accounts through
the confiscated credit cards,
Arraf said that the International
Solidarity Movement has received
many complaints about funds being
withdrawn from the accounts of the
activists while they were still being
detained by Israel.
Among the most significant of these
incidents is the one that involved
the correspondent of an Italian-Swiss
television, Manolo Luppichini, who
was along with his cameraman on
board a small ship in the Freedom
Flotilla.
Luppichini gave the following account:
“They took two cameras, microphones,
a stand and other equipment from
me and my photographer. They took
one of the cameras as I was taking
photographs. Afterward they took my
wallet, passport, bag and all personal
effects on the boat.” He then said he
received a form saying his passport
had been impounded.
Three days after his detention (31 May
to June 3) at the Beersheba prison, the
Israeli forces forcibly deported him to
Italy, without returning any of his effects
or documents.
Luppichini said that while he was
being detained in Beersheba and then
after he was back in Italy, his visa
card was used twice, and money was
taken from his account (100 dollars in
each time). When he checked with his
bank, he discovered that the amounts
were stolen in Israeli cities.
Meanwhile, the British activist Kathy
Windson told the International
Solidarity Movement that her visa
card was used to withdraw 80 dollars,
which is all she had in her account.
Once again, Israel resorts to the game
of cat and mouse with the peace
activists, while coming up with new
ways to torment them. This time, it
murdered activists, detained others,
and then deported them and stole
their effects, passports and money.
Will Israel content itself with these
tactics in a game where it outdid
even itself, in the course of its
inhumane war to deter the supporters
of breaking the siege on Gaza?