Palestinian National Authority
Reporters beaten during Gaza demonstrationsPosted Mar 23 2011
Hamas security personnel stormed the bureaus of Reuters, CNN and Japanese news channel NHK on March 19, attacking journalists, confiscating tapes and destroying equipment, The Committee to Protect Journalists reported. “Security forces hit a Reuters employee with an iron bar, threatened to throw another out of a window and smashed a television and computer keyboard,” Crispian Blamer, Reuters’ local bureau chief, told CNN and the AP.
On March 18, Hamas security forces prevented Xinhua photographer Khader Abu Kuik, Al Jazeera cameraman Ismail Al-Zanoun, AFP photographer Mohamed Al-Baba and freelancer Sam Yassin from covering a demonstration at the United Nations office in Gaza, according to Reporters Without Borders. “Their cameras were seized and the memory cards were removed,” The Reporters Without Borders reported.
Members of the Hamas security forces attacked journalists on March 15 as they dispersed hundreds of people from Katiba Square in Gaza City, according to Reporters Without Borders. The gathering was in response to a Facebook call to end the political divisions in the Palestinian Territories.
Police destroyed the demonstrators’ tents, “beginning with the tent put up by the Union of Journalists, and attacked around 20 reporters and photographers, seizing many cameras and memory cards,” Reporters Without Borders said.
Journalists injured include Asma Al-Ghoul, the correspondent of the Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, who was badly beaten and was held for five hours. Samah Ahmed was stabbed in the back and was taken to Shifa Hospital. Akram Atallah of the West Bank daily Al-Ayyam paper had his left arm broken.
Human Rights Watch reported that a journalist, called “Samoud” to protect her, said she was stabbed in the back when she tried to flee. “Police arrested her, confiscated her cell phone and took her to the police station, where she was placed in an interrogation room,” HRW said. “When she asked for medical care, they brought in another detainee, gave her a bottle of iodine, and told her to treat the wound … More than an hour later, after Samoud and the other detainee repeatedly asked for an ambulance, police summoned a nurse, who eventually convinced the police to let Samoud go to al-Shifa hospital.”
After complications with police at the hospital, Samoud and her brother, who had joined her there, fled when they were temporarily left alone.