Israeli occupation forces on Thursday confiscated computers, mobile phones and camera memory cards from the office and home of a Palestinian journalist. Soldiers raided Amin Abu Warda’s office in Nablus at 3 a.m., his colleague Atef Douglas told Ma’an Palestinian news agency, and confiscated several items, including a work computer and mobile phone.

Witnesses said Israeli forces also raided Abu Warda’s home and confiscated his personal mobile and laptop as well as his son’s mobile phone.  Abu Warda has been held in Israeli detention since December 28, 2011. The journalist is being held without charge and has not been allowed to speak with a lawyer. An Israeli court issued a decision to extend his arrest until tomorrow, January 15, 2012.

Israeli forces pictured during an operation in Nablus (Photo: Ma’an)

Palestinian media freedom group MADA slammed the arrest, saying it “stands in direct contravention to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression.” The group said Thursday that Israeli forces had escalated violations against journalists in December, with six journalists injured by gas projectiles fired at demonstrations.

ANHRI, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, condemned the detention of Abu-Warda. Israeli military personnel had stormed his house in Nablus and inexplicably arrested him. Abu-Warda’s wife says that occupation military forces stormed their house, located in al-Quds street, and interrogated him in the hall of the house as they locked her with their children in another room guarded by military personnel. Yet another military group searched the house and damaged its contents.

Abu-Warda worked as a correspondent of Quds Press Agency for over 15 years. He also worked as a correspondent for al-Khaleej Emirati newspaper. Currently, he is a correspondent of Palestine News Network (PNN), as well as a part-time lecturer at the open universities of al-Najah and al-Quds, and runs a media office in Nablus. ANHRI called on rights organizations to pressure for the immediate release of Abu-Warda, in addition to the cease of unfair trials of journalist detained by the Israeli forces.

Related:

Activists created a Facebook page in solidarity with Abu-Warda, and named it “Freedom for journalist and blogger Amin Abu-Warda” http://www.facebook.com/Free.AmeenAbuWarda