Palestinian Territories: Refusal to release activist despite prosecutor's decision is blatant human rights violation for which government bears responsibility

Skyline International condemns the Palestinian security services' continued arrest of activist "Mansour Nassar Al-Tal" from Hebron in the southern West Bank, despite the prosecution's decision to release him after he was arrested on the basis of freedom of opinion and expression.

In a statement released today, Tuesday, Skyline says it strongly disapproves of the authorities' continued arrest of activist "Al-Tal" six days ago, which is characterized by circumvention of the law and constitutes a blatant violation

Skyline explains that Palestinian intelligence arrested activist "Mansour Al-Tal" from Al-Dhahiriya Town, south of Hebron, on Sunday, May 7, for publishing videos in which he speaks out on public issues and criticizes official bodies, including the security services.

In this regard, Skyline states that "Mansour Al-Tal" was brought before the Palestinian prosecution on 9/5/2023, which extended his detention for 24 hours. The next day, the Prosecution decided to keep the file and release him, but the General Intelligence Service arbitrarily detained him, violating the law and the decision of the Prosecution.

The statement shows that the intelligence handed over the activist "Al-Tal" to the Hebron police on 15/12/2023, claiming that there is a complaint against him from the security services, and that he will be brought before the prosecution tomorrow for defamation.

Skyline emphasises that circumventing the prosecutor's or court's decision to release a detainee and continuing his detention by claiming that a complaint or new charge was filed days after the release decision is a blatant violation of the law and a form of circumvention to arbitrarily keep the detainee in custody.

Accordingly, Skyline asserts that the activist Mansour Al-Tal's arrest was arbitrary from the start because it occurred while he was exercising his right to publicly express his opinions and criticize government policies, which is protected by Palestinian law and the human rights treaties the Palestinian Authority has ratified.

In conclusion, Skyline urges the Palestinian government to uphold the law, take decisive action to put an end to the security services' repeated abuses, such as political detentions and restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, and mandate that they do the same.