KatsinaTimes
The African Journalists Against Genocide (AJAG) has condemned the detention of Palestinian journalist Moath Amarneh, describing it as an unlawful act aimed at silencing the press in the occupied territories.
In a statement released on Thursday, AJAG urged African governments, international media, and the global community to hold Israel accountable for what it described as “illegal administrative detention” and “systematic persecution” of Palestinian journalists.
Amarneh, a journalist from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, was arrested by Israeli forces on 20 August 2025 while driving along Road 60 near Bethlehem. According to AJAG, he has been placed under four months of administrative detention — a controversial policy that allows Israeli authorities to detain Palestinians without charge or trial.
“This is yet another attempt by Israel to suppress journalism and silence those who document its ongoing actions in Gaza and the West Bank,” AJAG said.
The group noted that since October 2023, more than 270 journalists in Gaza have been killed, while dozens of others remain in Israeli detention. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club has reported that at least 55 Palestinian journalists are currently imprisoned.
Amarneh himself has previously been a target of Israeli forces. In 2019, he lost his left eye after being struck by an Israeli sniper’s bullet while on assignment. He was also detained between October 2023 and July 2024 under the same administrative detention policy.
“Administrative detention is a euphemism for imprisonment without charge or trial. It is a hallmark of authoritarianism and a tool of political persecution,” AJAG stressed.
The organisation called on African governments to demand Amarneh’s immediate release and to impose political and economic consequences on Israel for what it termed “war crimes.” It also appealed to international media to give more prominence to the plight of detained Palestinian journalists and to intensify calls for international access to Gaza.
“From Burundi to Bethlehem, from Ghana to Gaza, journalists have paid the price for telling the truth under violent regimes,” said Ireti Bakare-Yusuf, Founder of AJAG. “It is clear that Israel fears the truth, and its most threatened enemies are the eyes and voices of courageous Palestinian journalists. Moath Amarneh must be freed now. Journalism is not a crime — killing journalists is the crime.”
