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A group of United Nations independent human rights experts, including Maina Kiai, expressed deep concern at the alleged ongoing judicial harassment, intimidation and abusive treatment directed against Issa Amro, a prominent Palestinian human rights defender. 
Mr. Amro was arrested and detained 20 times in 2012, and six times so far in 2013, although he has never engaged in violence nor been charged with a crime. He is a founder of non-governmental organizations Youth Against Settlements and Hebron Defenders.
“Mr. Amro appears to be the victim of a pattern of harassment that includes an effort to intimidate him prior to his participation at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2013 as NGO representative where he delivered two statements,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Richard Falk.
“Right before participating at this session of the Council, he received a summons to appear at Ofer Military Court on 30 December 2013,” Mr. Falk recalled. “At this point, there is no indication of any charges against Mr. Amro.”
Over the past months, Mr. Amro has also received a number of death threats from settler organizations. “Among the most insidious features of the prolonged occupation of the West Bank has been the high degree of complicity linking the Israeli military administration to the violence of the unlawful settlers against Palestinian inhabitants,” Mr. Falk noted.
On 8 July 2013, Mr. Amro was along with a French television crew in the heavily guarded Ibrahimi Mosque compound in the old City of Hebron in the West Bank when Israeli soldiers stopped the group and took away their identity documents. All identity documents were returned with the exception of those of Mr. Amro.
Israeli soldiers then took him away to the police station, where he was handcuffed and beaten until he collapsed. Mr. Amro was reportedly left lying in pain on a stretcher while allegedly members of the Israeli Security Forces laughed, took photos and threatened to shoot him. It was only more than five hours later that he was hospitalized.
“The right to freedom of association suggests that those exercising it are specifically protected from threats or use of violence, harassment, persecution, intimidation or reprisals,” stressed the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai. “Those responsible for these unacceptable acts against Mr. Amro should be held accountable, while members of the Youth Against Settlements Centre should immediately be granted adequate protection.”
The full press release is available via OHCHR in English and Chinese.
