The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued an urgent call to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) to investigate Israel’s escalating administrative detention of Palestinian journalists, amid the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza, according to CPJ’s press release on Monday.
Israel has employed administrative detentions for decades as a means to imprison Palestinian men, women, and children without trial indefinitely, regardless of whether they have committed a crime or intend to break the law in the future. As this measure is supposed to be “preventive,” it has no time limit.
“Under administrative detention,” CPJ stated, “a military commander may detain an individual without charge, typically for six months, on the grounds of preventing them from committing a future offense. Detention can be extended an unlimited number of times.”
The Committee expressed concern and asked for an investigation regarding the rise in the practice which has impacted a number of Palestinian journalists since the start of the conflict on October 7, including Moath Amarneh, Mohammad Badr, and Ameer Abu Iram.
Israel ranks as one of the world’s largest jailers of media professionals, with 17 in custody as of December 1, 2023, according to the CPJ’s most recent prison census. It is presently holding 14 Palestinian journalists in custody and is urging quick action to address the issue.
CPJ Director of Advocacy and Communications, Gypsy Guillén Kaiser, said “The incidence of administrative detention is a concerning bellwether for Israel’s efforts to restrict the public’s right to know what is happening in Gaza.” She said administrative detention is “suppression of dissenting voices,” particularly those of journalists.
According to CPJ’s statement, citing a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report, Israel prisons had over 2,800 Palestinians under administrative detention as of December 27, 2023, and the number has apparently grown with the ongoing war. The report further revealed the dire conditions faced by the detainees, including instances of abuse and mistreatment.
The UN Working Group has given Israel 60 days to respond to the CPJ’s suggestions before rendering a verdict.