Journalist Ahmed al-Bitawi arrested while covering pro-Gaza march in the West Bank

Palestinian authorities in the West Bank must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Ahmed al-Bitawi, who has been in detention since March 30, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.

On March 29, Palestinian General Intelligence Service agents arrested al-Bitawi, a reporter for Sanad News Agency, in the Palestinian West Bank city of Nablus while he was reporting on a march in support of Gaza, according to news reports. The next day, al-Bitawi was transferred to Al-Junaid Prison in Nablus, those sources said.

On April 1, a trial court in Nablus extended al-Bitawi’s detention for 15 days, according to Sanad News Agency, the Beirut-based press freedom organization SKeyes, and the journalist’s lawyer Ibrahim al-Amer, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app.

“Palestinian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Ahmed al-Bitawi and allow journalists to work freely and without fear of reprisal,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “It is shameful that Palestinian security forces have arrested a journalist who was reporting on Palestinian support for the people of Gaza, who have been decimated by a brutal war and are on the verge of famine.”

Al-Amer said that al-Bitawi’s detention had been extended on charges of possession of an illegal weapon and receiving money from illegal organizations. He rejected the allegations as false and said his client had been arrested because of his work as a journalist, without providing any further details.

“There is no evidence to support these claims against him. His detention could be extended for several months without having to present any evidence against him,” al-Amer told CPJ.

The Palestinian press freedom group MADA also reported that the journalist’s car had been seized.

Operating under a patchwork of laws, Palestinian authorities and security services often extend detention indefinitely for the purposes of completing their investigations.

It is the first time since the start of the Israel-Gaza war that CPJ has recorded the detention of a journalist by Palestinian authorities.

Since the war began on October 7, Israel emerged as the world’s sixth-worst jailer of journalists, according to CPJ’s most recent prison census, with 17 Palestinian journalists behind bars on December 1, 2023.

The Palestinian General Intelligence Service did not immediately respond to CPJ´s emailed request for comment on al-Bitawi’s arrest.