Free Palestinian Journalist Jared Malsin Let Them Know We are Watching
Jared Malsin, Chief English Editor of Ma'an News Agency is being detained at Ben Gurion airport pending deportation. The deportation is being challenged in Israeli courts, and with a hearing scheduled for Sunday, January 17th, in Tel Aviv Central Court (though we still don’t know the time). His luggage has been released. He was permitted a brief phone call Friday afternoon during a visit by US consular staff. Castro Daoud, his lawyer, was given access to Jared by the Israeli authorities yesterday.
Jared’s friend, Faith Rowold, was deported at 6am Friday morning and is now in Prague.
More details about the case and the Israeli authorities’ reasons for denying Jared entry are in the attached press release and on the Ma’an News Agency website at http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=254021 and http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=253864.
These are being updating as often as possible, though things have been confusing at times, so there’s been some delay. There is contact with lawyers, human rights NGOs, consulates/embassies/representatives offices, media NGOs, and the international press.
If possible, if people could do any/all of the following it would help:
-Continue to contact Congressional representatives/the State Department and express concern that Israel continues to deny Jared entry because of his activities as a journalist and his political views, that he is being held incommunicado and that he was denied access to his lawyer today. Ask them to remain apprised of Jared’s case and express their concerns to the Israeli authorities. For those not in the US, contact your MPs/representatives and the foreign ministry.
-Continue to contact the Israeli embassy in Washington DC and Israeli consulates by phone, e-mail, and fax. For contact info see http://www.israelemb.org/contact_us.html (embassy), and http://www.israelemb.org/israeli-consulate-in-usa.htm (consulates). For those not in the US, contact the Israeli embassy in your country.
-Please forward widely and continue to spread the word.
