Palestinian National Authority
British documentary filmmaker and freelance journalist detainedPosted Feb 23 2010
Paul Martin, who has written for the BBC and The Times, will be held by Hamas security forces in Gaza for 15 days.
He was arrested Feb. 14 at a military tribunal in which he was to speak on the behalf of a Palestinian gunman and documentary subject, Mohammed Abu Muailik, The Guardian reported.
According to the BBC, Hamas Interior Ministry Spokesman Ehab Ghussein said, “We have confessions that the British journalist committed offences against Palestinian law, and that harms the security of the country.”
Ghussein said the confessions are not Martin's own but those of a suspected collaborator with Israel. The Gaza Interior Ministry also said Martin's detention is linked clearly to security and has nothing to do with his job as a journalist.
“Although it is not yet clear exactly why Paul Martin has been imprisoned, IPI is concerned by his arrest and the intimidating effect it could have on journalists covering events in Gaza,” said International Press Institute Director David Dadge.
The Times reported this is Martin's third arrest by Hamas since he began started working in Gaza in 2007.