Israel
American editor expelled from IsraelPosted Feb 13 2010
The Israeli Interior Ministry deported a U.S. journalist working in a Bethlehem-based Palestinian news agency on Jan. 20. This was after authorities had detained him for eight days.
Jared Malsin, chief English editor of Ma’an News Agency was arrested Jan. 12 in the Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv as he returned from a vacation in Prague with his girlfriend. Israeli security reported that Malsin lied to border officials about his reasons for entering the country and refused to cooperate.
Authorities interrogated him for eight hours about his articles critical of the Israeli government, according to the International Press Institute. But Israeli officials countered by saying they did not know Malsin was a journalist until contacted by media outlets about his arrest.
According to Reporters Without Borders, Malsin’s deportation was scheduled for Jan. 14 until his lawyer filed an appeal. His expulsion was finalized after Malsin signed a cancellation of the appeal without his lawyer present, raising questions of duress. According to Ma’an News Agency, Malsin was told the document would allow him to voluntarily leave the airport while his case continued.
The International Federation of Journalists condemned the Israeli authorities for their lack of transparency and suggested “Israeli officials are seeking to control independent media and undermine impartial news reporting.”
According to the Guardian, Malsin described his arrest as “an affront to journalists not only in Palestine, but in Israel and abroad.”