Palestinian Authority to free arrested journalists

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority (PA) decided to release five journalists on Monday after arresting them last week, their lawyer said, a day after political rivals Hamas released a PA-linked reporter.

The five, including from Hamaslinked media, had been arrested in the occupied West Bank on accusations of “leaking sensitive information to enemy groups.”

Three of the five were freed earlier Monday, with the others expected to be released later in the day, the lawyer said.

“The relevant courts decided to free five journalists and all journalists are supposed to be released,” Alaa Freijat, lawyer for the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, told AFP.

They were held under the PA’s new electronic crimes law, which has been criticized by rights groups who say it restricts criticism of officials on social and traditional media, with the potential for jail sentences. One of the journalists worked for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV.

The releases came a day after Hamas freed a journalist in the Gaza Strip from the PA-linked Palestine TV.

Fouad Jarada, 35, was arrested in June by Hamas authorities.

In 2016, Freedom House classified the media environment in the West Bank and Gaza as “not free,” ranking it below Iraq and Zimbabwe and level with Russia.