The Palestinian Authority must stop its crackdown on journalists and political opponents, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.
“We call on the Palestinian Authority to ensure that security forces ensure freedom of expression, freedom of opinion and peaceful assembly,” Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the noon briefing.
Any “excessive use of force” should be “investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he said.
Dujarric spoke amid heightened tensions between the PA and its opponents in the aftermath of the death of Palestinian political activist Nizar Banat during a raid on his home by PA security forces. Witnesses have alleged that he was beaten to death; results of an initial PA probe are expected to be published within days.
Journalists covering the protests over Banat’s death have also been beaten by PA security forces.
Palestinian journalists held a sit-in strike on Monday in front of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Ramallah. They demanded international protection from PA police officers and Fatah activists who assaulted them while they were covering the protests over Banat’s death.
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“We have our human rights colleagues on the ground who witnessed both Palestinian security forces and non-uniformed persons using force against protesters, as well as journalists and human rights officers, who are themselves documenting the event,” Dujarric said. “Several people have been injured, as you probably have seen.”
Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.
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