Lawyers for Justice condemns the Israeli occupation authorities’ decision to ban the group’s director, lawyer Mohannad Karajeh, from traveling outside the Palestinian territories. This constitutes a clear violation of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under international law, foremost among them the right to freedom of movement and the freedom to engage in human rights work.
Lawyer Mohannad Karajeh had intended to travel to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan but was surprised when Israeli occupation authorities detained him and informed him of a travel ban before returning him to the Palestinian side. Upon his arrival at the Palestinian side, he was detained under an “arrival alert” (tarqub wusul) by the Preventive Security Service, where he was interrogated for approximately half an hour before being released. Lawyers for Justice considers the travel ban an arbitrary measure that falls within a policy of restriction and harassment targeting human rights defenders, and an attempt to punish them for their legitimate human rights and professional activities.
The group emphasizes that the continued targeting of human rights activists and lawyers is a flagrant violation of international law and the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, threatening the space for Palestinian civil and human rights work. Accordingly, Lawyers for Justice calls upon local and international human rights organizations, civil society institutions, and relevant UN bodies to intervene urgently and pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to rescind the travel ban against lawyer Mohannad Karajeh and to cease the policy of targeting human rights defenders.
Lawyers for Justice Group
Palestine
Israel/Palestinian Authority: Arbitrary Travel Ban and Harassment of Rights Lawyer Mohannad Karajeh
