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Jerusalem:
11 July , 1997
Arrested Professor on Sixth Day of Hunger Strike
Dr. Fathi Ahmed Subuh, a professor of
Education at Al-Azhar Univeristy in Gaza, has been on hunger
strike for five days to protest his illegal arrest and
detention. On July 2, agents of the Preventative Security
Service arrested Dr. Subuh, who is 44 years old and father
of five children. ages 14, 13,
9, 7,and 6. Dr. Subuh is now held at the Tel El-Hawa
prison in Gaza.
Palestinian human rights
organizations have been aware of his arrest from the
beginning, apparently for placing questions on a final exam
that were critical of Al-Azhar University and the
Palestinian Authority. The exam was for a class on Teacher’s
Education and Social Problems. Press releases and
international alerts have not resulted in attention to his
case either locally or abroad, prompting Dr. Subuh to begin
a hunger strike, which enters its sixth day today.
So far, no one has been allowed to
visit Dr. Subuh, including his wife and lawyer. Fatma Subuh
told the PHRMG that “I want him released quickly because he
is innocent. We are in the beginning of building our state,
and things should be more free. If we don’t know the
negative, we can’t know the positive.”
The University initially promised to
form an investigative committee to look into the critical
final exam questions, but has not done so after the case was
taken by the PSS. The charges against Dr. Subuh are unclear,
but according to his wife they are related to “security.”
Dr. Subuh has never had difficulties with the PA before, but
was arrested 23 times during the Israeli occupation.
The PHRMG calls on the Palestinian
and international public to put pressure on the PA to
release Dr. Subuh, who is innocent of any crime. On the
contrary, his bravery in raising difficult social questions
to a class of future teachers must be praised as an example
to be followed.
This case of suppression of freedom of
expression follows closely the arrest of lawyer Jamil
Salameh on April 26, Daoud Kuttab on May 26, and Dr. Ayoub
Othman on May 30.
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