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Jerusalem: 26
November, 1997
Dr. Fathi Subuh
Released!
Dr.
Fathi Subuh, a professor of education at Al-Azhar University
in Gaza, was released today on bail, after paying 5,000
Jordanian Dinars. His release is a major victory for human
rights activists in Palestine. Subuh was arrested to punish
him for raising difficult questions in his class, and his
case has been seen as a test-case for academic freedom in
Palestine.
Subuh,
who is 44 years old and the father of five children, was
arrested by the Preventative Security Service on July 2,
following an exam given to students that asked them for
their opinions about corruption in the PA. Weeks later, the
PSS confiscated the students’ completed exams from Subuh’s
home. Since his arrest, Subuh has been on and off hunger
strikes for more than 30 days. He was declared a prisoner of
conscience by Amnesty International, and attracted the
attention of academics all over the world.
In
prison, a pre-existing condition began to deteriorate
further, and he was hospitalized for a hole in his brain
membrane, through which fluid was leaking into his sinus
cavity and out through his nose. To secure his release, one
of his brothers gave 5,000 JD as bail to the State Security
Court. He was released on several conditions: he must check
in daily at a police station in the Abbas neighborhood of
Gaza, and he is not permitted to travel without special
permission from the Attorney General’s office.
On
November 14, 1997, the PHRMG joined prominent academics from
Bir Zeit University in publishing an advertisement in the
al-Quds newspaper calling for Subuh’s release. The text of
the advertisement appears below:
We, the members of the PHRMG, and academics who signed
below, call on his excellency President Arafat to order the
release of Dr. Fathi Subuh, who is illegally detained. We
believe that freedom of opinion, human rights, the rule of
law, and establishing our democratic independent Palestinian
state, all needs to be protected by the Palestinian people.
We will continue our peaceful expressions of protest until
Dr. Subuh is released.
Published in al-Quds, 14.11.97
Signatories:
1.
Dr. Kamal Abdel Fatah
2.
Dr. Nazmi al-Jabber
3.
Dr. Majdi al Malki
4.
Dr. Naji abdul Jabbar
5.
Dr. Mahmoud Abdel Fatah
6.
Dr. Khalid Abatha
7.
Dr. Nadim M’seis
8.
Dr. Abbas Abdul Haq
9.
Dr. Rana Nashasheebi
10.Dr.
Khalil Shkaki
11.Dr.
Said Zeidani
12.Dr.
Salim Tamari
13.Dr.
Ayoub Othman
14.Dr.
Karamela Armenius
15.Dr.
Nadir Said
16.Dr.
Carol Khouri
17.LCM
Haidar Abdel Shafi
18.LCM
Hatem Abdul Khader
19.LCM
Othman Ghasash
20.LCM
Husam Khader
21.Haifa’a
Shawa Masri
22.Khaled
Amayreh
23.Mohammad
Dahman
24.Zuhair
al-Diba’i
25.A’adel
Ghanem
26.Dr.
Ghazi Hamad
27.Ahmad
Othmani
28.Maher
al-Alami
29.Abdel
Latif Gheith
30.Dr.
Mohammad Jadallah
31.Adv.
Walid al-Assali
Published in al-Quds, 14.11.97
Although
the PHRMG celebrates Subuh’s release, we condemn the PA’s
continued attempts to intimidate its critics into silence.
We call on Palestinian professors to follow Subuh’s brave
example and include discussions of academic freedom,
corruption, and human rights in their curricula.
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