January 24, 2011

Associated Press
A Palestinian journalist was arrested and held last fall for being “tagged” in a Facebook photo critical of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Journalist Mamdouh Hamamreh works for pro-Hamas Al-Quds TV, and was detained in September then released after 50 days.

According to Hamamreh, he was detained due to a photo that appeared in his Facebook feed depicting Abbas standing next to a villain from a popular Syrian soap opera. Hamamreh claims the image was tagged with his name, but that he was not responsible for it being posted.

Hamamreh faces trial over “insulting a public figure.” A hearing is planned for February.

Support high-integrity, independent journalism that serves democracy. Make a gift to Poynter today. The Poynter Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, and your gift helps us make good journalism better.
Donate

More News

Back to News