Journalist Majd Kayyal released following Adalah\'s motion against extension of his detention
(Haifa, Israel) On the afternoon of 17 April 2014, journalist and Adalah web editor Majd Kayyal was released following five days of incommunicado detention by the Israeli security authorities. Kayyal was arrested on 12 April upon his return to Israel from a conference he independently attended in Beirut, Lebanon to mark the 40th anniversary of the "As-Safir" newspaper, to which he is a frequent contributor.
Earlier in the day, Adalah filed a motion to the Haifa Magistrates' Court to reconsider the extension of Kayyal's detention, which was to continue until 22 April. Prior to the court hearing on the motion, the police decided to release Kayyal with the following conditions: house arrest for 5 days, a ban on using the internet for 21 days, and a ban on travelling outside the country for two months. The police then informed Adalah Attorney Aram Mahameed, who is representing Kayyal. However, Kayyal was asked to sign the release with conditions, without the opportunity of consultation with his attorney.
Attorney Mahameed commented on the news of Kayyal’s release stating that: "The release of Majd Kayyal only a day after lawyers were permitted to meet him at the detention center, and only a few hours after the gag order on the case was lifted, demonstrates that his detention was a purely retaliatory action by the police and that they had no legal basis or evidence for the charges made against him."
Regarding the house arrest and other conditions, Attorney Mahameed noted: "There is no justification for the restrictions imposed on Kayyal, since it has been made clear that there was no basis for his arrest and therefore no reason to keep him under such conditions." Mahameed added that Adalah plans to file an appeal immediately against the restrictions.
