Israeli forces transfer al-Mayadeen’s Palestine bureau chief to notorious Ofer Prison
Two Palestinian prisoners rights groups confirm that Israeli forces have transferred the abducted chief of al-Mayadeen’s Palestine bureau to the notorious Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) announced in a statement that Nasser al-Lahham has been moved from the Maskoubiye detention center to the incarceration facility, and his trial session is set for the coming Thursday.
A member of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Omar Nazzal, said the Israeli interrogation of Lahham is primarily focused on his cooperation with al-Mayadeen TV.
The two Palestinian prisoners’ advocacy organizations said Israeli troops abducted Lahham from his home in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem early on Monday, amid an intensified campaign by Israel aimed at journalists on an unprecedented scale since the outbreak of the Gaza genocidal war.
Israeli forces abducted Nasser al-Lahham, director of Al Mayadeen’s office in the occupied Palestine, on Monday.
Lahham, a veteran journalist reporting from Palestine, is the editor-in-chief of Ma’an News Agency and director of al-Mayadeen TV’s office in Palestine.
The Commission and the PPS stated that the number of journalists who have been arrested since the beginning of the genocide in early October 2023 now stands at 193, of whom 50 reporters remain in custody.
The Palestinian prisoners rights groups noted that the majority of detained journalists are facing charges related to so-called “incitement” through social media platforms and news outlets, while others are held under administrative detention.
Al-Mayadeen TV has categorically denounced the detention of its bureau chief in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The channel said the arrest was carried out with “brutality and repression,” demanding Lahham’s immediate release.
Al-Mayadeen TV labeled Lahham’s detention as part of a wider campaign of repression carried out by Israeli authorities against Palestinian journalists.
“We are not surprised by the occupation’s sadistic practices, nor by its persistent hostility toward journalism, journalists, and the right to report the truth,” the news channel said.
“For us, Nasser is more than a bureau chief. He is a leading voice in Palestinian journalism, a symbol of purposeful reporting, and a steadfast defender of his people’s rights,” the news channel highlighted.
