Al-Jazeera journalist ‘admits’ Hamas links after detention in Israel

Plea bargain by Kabul bureau chief Samer Allawi was forced on him during six weeks in jail, his lawyer claims An al-Jazeera journalist has admitted to having ties to Hamas six weeks after being detained by the Israeli military following a visit to his family in the West Bank. Samer Allawi, the Arab TV network’s Kabul bureau chief, was released from detention on Monday after a plea bargain resulted in a suspended jail sentence and a £900 fine. Allawi was arrested on 9 August when trying to leave the West Bank via Jordan to return to Afghanistan. His lawyer told Human Rights Watch he had been threatened with physical harm while in detention for months without charge unless he admitted membership of Hamas. Under interrogation, Allawi admitted he had been recruited by Hamas in Pakistan in 1993. A military court convicted Allawi of “conspiracy to provide a service for an outlawed organisation”. Shin Bet, Israel’s intelligence agency, said Allawi had agreed “to carry out military or organisational activity as required by Hamas”. This included “criticising American actions in Afghanistan and voicing support for the Palestinian ‘resistance’”, the agency said in a statement. Salim Wakim, the journalist’s lawyer, said Allawi had refused Hamas requests, adding that his client had been sentenced for “very, very, very trivial crimes”. Following his release, Allawi said he met Hamas officials as part of his job. “There was no evidence against me,” he said. “The whole arrest episode was a charade aimed at extorting al-Jazeera. I was not the target.” He said he had been “subjected to a great deal of pressure during my arrest and the interrogations”. Last week, Human Rights Watch called on the Israeli authorities to release or charge the journalist. Hamas, which won elections in the Palestinian territories in 2006 and took control of Gaza in a bloody battle with rivals Fatah the following year, is outlawed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and the EU. Al-Jazeera Hamas Israel Press freedom Journalist safety TV news Palestinian territories Television industry Middle East Newspapers & magazines Newspapers Harriet Sherwood guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 27, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.