By IRNA,
London : Amnesty International has called on the Israeli authorities to end their harassment of a human rights activist whose week-long detention has been extended until May 17.
“Ameer Makhoul is a key human rights defender, well-known for his civil society activism on behalf of the Palestinian citizens of Israel ,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“His arrest and continued detention smacks of pure harassment, designed to hinder his human rights work. If this is the case, we would regard him as a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and unconditional release,” Luther said in a statement obtained by IRNA.
Makhoul, who lives in Haifa, was arrested in a dawn raid at his home by the Israeli security services and police on 6 May and has been charged with “contact with a foreign agent” on the basis of “secret evidence”.
Amnesty said he was taken to Petah Tikva interrogation centre and has been denied legal advice throughout his detention. The doctor at the prison where he is held was reported to have informed his lawyer that he is suffering from pains in his head.
Makhoul, who chairs the Public Committee for the Defence of Political Freedom within the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee, has already been banned from travelling since last month.
Amnesty said that an initial gagging order had been imposed on the Israeli press to prevent the reporting of his arrest as well as the detention of Omar Said, an activist with the National Democratic Assembly (NDA), banned from standing in Israel’s elections.