New York, October 22, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes today’s release of Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Hussam Abu Alan, who had been held by Israeli authorities without charge for nearly six months.
Abu Alan was detained on April 24 at the Beit Einun checkpoint north of the West Bank town of Hebron while attempting to reach a nearby village to cover the funeral of Palestinian militants killed by Israeli forces.
“We are glad that our colleague Abu Alan has been freed,” said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. “But his release today only confirms our belief that the Israeli government deprived him of his liberty for six months without justification.”
