Gaza: The Palestinian Center for Prisoners' Advocacy affirmed solidarity with Palestinian journalists detained in Israeli occupation prisons, numbering 45 journalists, who are facing difficult detention conditions and ongoing violations affecting their freedom and dignity.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the center said the arrest of journalists comes within the context of a direct targeting of their role in conveying the truth and documenting developments on the ground.
It noted that since October 2023, the Israeli occupation has intensified its measures against journalists, arresting more than 220 male and female journalists as part of an ongoing campaign aimed at limiting media coverage and weakening the presence of the Palestinian narrative in the media space.
The center added that many detained journalists are held under administrative detention, with their imprisonment repeatedly extended without clear charges or trial, leaving them in open-ended detention. It said detainees are also subjected to isolation, poor treatment, denial of family visits, lack of medical care, and deprivation of basic rights guaranteed under international law for prisoners.
It pointed out that among those detained are journalists from the Gaza Strip who were arrested during the ongoing war, in complex field conditions, while carrying out their journalistic duties or attempting to cover events. This, it said, reflects a clear targeting of the press during this period.
The center added that the continued detention of this number of journalists, alongside repeated arrests of others, has a direct impact on media work, restricting journalists’ ability to perform their duties freely and affecting the flow of information to the public.
It also said that what detained journalists are subjected to is not limited to deprivation of liberty but extends to severe psychological and living pressures in detention conditions lacking basic humanitarian standards, further increasing their suffering and that of their families.
The Palestinian Center for Prisoners' Advocacy called on international and human rights organizations, as well as press unions, to take serious action to pressure for the release of detained journalists, end the policy of administrative detention, and ensure their protection from violations inside prisons.
