Israeli police release journalist Abed Abu Shehadeh

Israeli police released Palestinian journalist Abed Abu Shehadeh early on Sunday from the Petah Tikva police centre, while rights groups have denounced his "unlawful" arrest.

A Tel Aviv court had extended his detention until 8 November, in connection with interviews and a podcast he carried out with Dr Azmi Bashara.

The Adalah rights group hailed his release, but said that he should not have been arrested in the first place.

An Adalah spokesperson, Hadeel Abu Salih, told* The New Arab* that at the only hearing held, there was no evidence disclosed to the defence and all of the material was kept a secret.

"Opening a criminal investigation over a media interview is itself a grave violation of freedom of expression and press freedom. Under Israeli law, there is also a procedural requirement that was not met: opening such an investigation requires prior approval from the state attorney’s office, and that approval was not obtained," she explained.

"Sending some 15 officers on a night raid to arrest a journalist over an interview, which was public, and its contents are known, is not policing. It is intimidation, meant to frighten him and to deter other Palestinian journalists and activists," she continued.

According to Abu Salih, the arrest forms part of a broader trend in which criminal law is increasingly being used in an attempt to narrow the space for Palestinian political expression in Israel.

The rights group also issued a statement following his release.

“Adalah welcomes his release. However, his release does not make this arrest any less unlawful. As Adalah argued before the court last week, the very decision to open a criminal investigation over a media interview is a grave violation of press freedom, and his detention was arbitrary from the first hour,” the group said.

“The court, which should have stopped this at the first hearing, approved his continued detention, thereby taking part in the violation of free speech and press freedom. The message to Palestinian citizens is unmistakable: a public conversation with a political figure can land you in a cell,” the statement added.

The rights group said that authorities had not filed charges against him but had interrogated him exclusively about a pre-election interview he conducted in Qatar with Balad party founder and prominent academic Azmi Bishara.

His release also came just before a court session that was scheduled to discuss extending Abu Shehadeh’s detention even further.

A group of protesters gathered in front of the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court early on Sunday, organised by the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens to demand an end to his detention.

The protesters, who were also joined by representatives from human rights organisations, also denounced the restrictions on freedom of expression.

Abu Shehadeh, who is also a contributor to* The New Arab, *was arrested on Tuesday evening following a raid on his home in Jaffa. The police requested an eight-day extension to his detention on suspicion of “contacting a foreign agent”.

The journalist’s family told local media that around 15 members of the Israeli security forces, some masked, had stormed their home and confiscated his mobile and other tech devices. They added that they were unable to get information about him for several hours following his arrest.

Abu Shehadeh is an editor at the news site* Arab48* and a contributor to +972 Magazine, and a political activist.

His detention came amid continued right-wing calls for a crackdown on Palestinian parties during the election.