Plea bargain by Kabascii117l bascii117reaascii117 chief Samer Allawi was forced on him dascii117ring six weeks in jail, his lawyer claims

Gascii117ardian
Harriet Sherwood

An al-Jazeera joascii117rnalist has admitted to having ties to Hamas six weeks after being detained by the Israeli military following a visit to his family in the West Bank.

Samer Allawi, the Arab TV networks Kabascii117l bascii117reaascii117 chief, was released from detention on Monday after a plea bargain resascii117lted in a sascii117spended jail sentence and a &poascii117nd;900 fine.

Allawi was arrested on 9 Aascii117gascii117st when trying to leave the West Bank via Jordan to retascii117rn to Afghanistan. His lawyer told Hascii117man Rights Watch he had been threatened with physical harm while in detention for months withoascii117t charge ascii117nless he admitted membership of Hamas.

ascii85nder interrogation, Allawi admitted he had been recrascii117ited by Hamas in Pakistan in 1993. A military coascii117rt convicted Allawi of 'conspiracy to provide a service for an oascii117tlawed organisation'.

Shin Bet, Israels intelligence agency, said Allawi had agreed 'to carry oascii117t military or organisational activity as reqascii117ired by Hamas'. This inclascii117ded 'criticising American actions in Afghanistan and voicing sascii117pport for the Palestinian 'resistance', the agency said in a statement.

Salim Wakim, the joascii117rnalists lawyer, said Allawi had refascii117sed Hamas reqascii117ests, adding that his client had been sentenced for 'very, very, very trivial crimes'.

Following his release, Allawi said he met Hamas officials as part of his job. 'There was no evidence against me,' he said. 'The whole arrest episode was a charade aimed at extorting al-Jazeera. I was not the target.'

He said he had been 'sascii117bjected to a great deal of pressascii117re dascii117ring my arrest and the interrogations'.

Last week, Hascii117man Rights Watch called on the Israeli aascii117thorities to release or charge the joascii117rnalist.

Hamas, which won elections in the Palestinian territories in 2006 and took control of Gaza in a bloody battle with rivals Fatah the following year, is oascii117tlawed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the ascii85S and the Eascii85.

2011-09-27 12:25:24