In a report on April 28, the center cited two writers in the West Bank.
In March, the PA's General Intelligence Services arrested Muhanad Salahat,
confiscated his computer and took him to jail in Jericho.
Salahat was said to have been questioned on a documentary he produced
for A-Jazeera. GIS accused Salahat of crimes against the Palestinians and
forced him to open his e-mail box.
"GIS held his laptop and camera as well as an external hard drive that
contained documentary films," PCHR said. "GIS required Salahat to call all
his friends and ask them to end the media campaign that they had launched
against the Palestinian Authority."
Since then, Salahat, a member of the Palestinian Association for Human
Rights, has been banned from leaving the West Bank. He was also summoned to
GIS headquarters in Jericho for additional interrogation.
Another victim of the crackdown was identified as Walid Al Hodali, based
in Ramallah. In April, Al Hodali, a 50-year-old writer, was arrested by the
PA's Preventive Security Apparatus, which also confiscated his computer.
"Al Hodali was transferred to the PSA headquarters, where he was
interrogated about his political affiliations for one hour," the center
said.
PA officials acknowledged the arrests. They said PA intelligence
services have been on alert for Hamas-directed efforts to destabilize the
West Bank.