Israel has arrested the Palestinian head of Al-Jazeera's Kabul office, accusing him of belonging to Hamas and contacting its military wing, the channel's Jerusalem bureau chief says.
Samer Allawi was arrested last Wednesday as he tried to cross to Jordan from the West Bank, where he had been visiting his family, Walid al-Omary said.
On Tuesday morning, he was taken before an Israeli military court in the northern West Bank which extended his detention for another seven days. It accused him of "membership in Hamas" and having "contact with members in Hamas's military wing". Omary said after the court hearing.
Allawi's lawyer told Al-Jazeera it was the first time he had heard the allegations against his client who had not been questioned about ties to Hamas.
"This is the first time such accusations were pointed at Allawi, which are completely denied by Allawi and his lawyer," Omary said.
The Kabul bureau chief was detained at the Israeli-controlled Allenby crossing between the West Bank and Jordan last week.
Israel's Shin Bet internal security service confirmed the arrest but declined to give any additional details.
Omary said Allawi, who has been given access to a lawyer, was being held at the Kishon prison in northern Israel and had been questioned extensively about his family and his work in Afghanistan.
"They're asking him 'Who visited you when you were at your family's house? With whom did you meet? How do you do your job there in Afghanistan? Do you have any contacts with the Taleban?"'
Omary said interrogators had also asked Allawi about his schooling in Nablus, his personal finances and whether he had contacts with foreign intelligence services.
"The investigators have taken his password for his personal email and also his password for I-News ... which is Al-Jazeera's specialised news program," he said.
Omary said Allawi was detained after spending around three weeks with his family in the northern West Bank village of Sebastia near Nablus.
On Tuesday, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement calling on Israel "to clarify the legal basis for holding Al-Jazeera correspondent Samer Allawi".
"Israel must clarify why it continues to hold Samer Allawi," the group's regional program coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem said.
"Our concern for Allawi's well-being and his legal rights is amplified with every passing day that he is held without due process."
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-...al/17-Aug-2011/AlJazeeras-bureau-chief-nabbed
Samer Allawi was arrested last Wednesday as he tried to cross to Jordan from the West Bank, where he had been visiting his family, Walid al-Omary said.
On Tuesday morning, he was taken before an Israeli military court in the northern West Bank which extended his detention for another seven days. It accused him of "membership in Hamas" and having "contact with members in Hamas's military wing". Omary said after the court hearing.
Allawi's lawyer told Al-Jazeera it was the first time he had heard the allegations against his client who had not been questioned about ties to Hamas.
"This is the first time such accusations were pointed at Allawi, which are completely denied by Allawi and his lawyer," Omary said.
The Kabul bureau chief was detained at the Israeli-controlled Allenby crossing between the West Bank and Jordan last week.
Israel's Shin Bet internal security service confirmed the arrest but declined to give any additional details.
Omary said Allawi, who has been given access to a lawyer, was being held at the Kishon prison in northern Israel and had been questioned extensively about his family and his work in Afghanistan.
"They're asking him 'Who visited you when you were at your family's house? With whom did you meet? How do you do your job there in Afghanistan? Do you have any contacts with the Taleban?"'
Omary said interrogators had also asked Allawi about his schooling in Nablus, his personal finances and whether he had contacts with foreign intelligence services.
"The investigators have taken his password for his personal email and also his password for I-News ... which is Al-Jazeera's specialised news program," he said.
Omary said Allawi was detained after spending around three weeks with his family in the northern West Bank village of Sebastia near Nablus.
On Tuesday, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement calling on Israel "to clarify the legal basis for holding Al-Jazeera correspondent Samer Allawi".
"Israel must clarify why it continues to hold Samer Allawi," the group's regional program coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem said.
"Our concern for Allawi's well-being and his legal rights is amplified with every passing day that he is held without due process."
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-...al/17-Aug-2011/AlJazeeras-bureau-chief-nabbed
