By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
GAZA CITY, Gaza – British reporter and filmmaker Paul Martin continues to be held in a Gaza prison, over three weeks after he was arrested by Hamas officials at a trial of Palestinian man who was accused of collaborating with Israel. According to a Hamas military court, Martin “committed offenses that harmed the security of the country.” Hamas has refused to publically specify Martin’s alleged offenses.
Hamas security officers arrested Martin on February 14, and after the fifteen-day detention period lapsed, security officers petitioned the Hamas military court for another fifteen-day extension, which was granted on March 1. Martin had been working on a documentary about Mohammed Abu Muaileq, the accused collaborator, when he was arrested. Martin has previously produced stories for the BBC, The Times of London, Al Jazeera International, CNN, and Channel Four News.
Martin’s lawyer, Sharhabil Zayim, said that the fifteen-day extension would be the longest that investigators could hold Martin without filing formal charges. When the Associated Press interviewed Zayim on February 28, Zayim said he had last seen Martin ten days previous, that he looked fine, but that he had not been allowed to see his client since.
Since that interview, Martin’s family in the United Kingdom have broken their silence and expressed concern about Martin’s well-being. Martin’s wife, Anne Martin, released a statement saying that her husband “has been kept in solitary confinement and interrogated whilst being denied access to his Gazan lawyer or to official British representatives. …We understand that he is now being held without reading and writing materials and without means of communication with the outside world.”
The British Embassy in Israel has also expressed concern, echoing Anne Martin’s statement that her husband’s arrest was the first arrest of a foreign press representative in Gaza.
“We are urgently looking into the matter and following up with the responsible people so we can sort this matter out on the consular level,” said Fadi Adeeb, a spokesperson for the British consulate in Jerusalem.
For more information, please see:
Sky News – Family’s Fears for Briton Held by Hamas – 2 March 2010
BBC News – Hamas Extends British Reporter Paul Martin’s Detention – 1 March 2010
New York Times – Hamas Says it is Extending Briton’s Stay in Detention – 1 March 2010
Associated Press – Hamas Seeks Extension of Detention of UK Reporter – 28 February 2010
Ha’aretz – Hamas Seeks to Extend Gaza Arrest of U.K. Journalist – 28 February 2010
