GENEVA - On Sunday, 27 August 2017, the Palestinian Authority's Intelligence Service in Nablus arrested Bara'a Nawaf Al-Amer, a student activist, a law student and one of the trainees at the Euro-Mediterranean Monitor for Human Rights without any legal justification.

“Bara al-Amer declared his open hunger strike immediately after his arrest, and he was subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment during the investigation carried out by officers who previously intorogated him,” said the center.

During the past three days, the Palestinian security services arrested seven students from An-Najah National University in Nablus, in addition to al-Amer. All students were arrested on the same charges due to their activism at the university, despite the fact that the semester has only started a week ago.

Nawaf al-Amer, the father of al-Amer, told the Euro-Med Monitor that his son had been subjected to a campaign by the Palestinian intelligence agents at Al-Najah National University since last Thursday, adding that he had contacted some PA officials to ensure that his son was not harmed.

“We were surprised on Sunday that Braa’s phone was turned off. We did not know where he was until about four hours after his arrest when the family contacted the Intelligence Service, and later they were informed he was held at their office.

Al-Amer explained that their son is constantly threatened by the official responsible for Al-Najah National University in the Palestinian Intelligence in Nablus.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor holds the Palestinian Authority fully responsible for any harm that might accur to Baraa al-Amer, and calls on the Palestinian intelligence to release him immediately and unconditionally.

The arrest of the student activist, contradicts the Palestinian Authority's obligations under International Human Rights Law and violates the right to freedom and falls under arbitrary detention. The Euro-Med Monitor expresses its concern that the arrest charges is related to student activisim.
The Euro-Med Monitor assures that international conventions and particularly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, have unequivocally criminalized the arrest or detention of any person without judicial grounds. The Palestinian basic law also stipulates in Article 11 that “No one shall be arrested, searched, imprisoned or restricted in any way or prevented from traveling, except by judicial order in accordance with the provisions of the law.” The security forces that arrested al-Amer failed to to do so.