Right to life with dignity by Mohammad Saba’aneh Oct 30, 2012
Very sad news. Mohammad Saba’aneh, the acclaimed Palestinian Cartoonist who was detained February 16th at the Allenby Bridge checkpoint, was sentenced by the Israeli Salem Military Court on April 4th to 5 months in an Israeli prison for “contact with a hostile organization“.
Freedom by Mohammad Saba’aneh 05 Dec 2012
Initially Saba’aneh was held without charge. On March 19th an Israeli military court was supposed to announce a decision whether to present an indictment against Saba’aneh, instead they extended his detention.
At the time Saba’aneh’s lawyer said there was no evidence Saba’aneh had committed any offense.
Don’t Shoot by Mohammad Saba’aneh
According to the following report Saba’aneh’s lawyer informs Mohammad had contacted a publisher in Amman Jordan who published a book about Palestinian prisoners. Possibly Israel considers books about Palestinian prisoners a threat to their security.
The Cartoon Movement, courtesy of Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW), Mohammad Saba’aneh Sentenced to Five Months in Prison:
Thursday April 4, Palestinian cartoonist Mohammad Saba’aneh was sentenced by a military court in Salem to five months in prison and a fine of 10,000 shekels for ‘contact with a hostile organization’. The news is confirmed by Mohammad’s brother Adel and his lawyer Riadh Arda.
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Book about Palestinian prisoners
According to Saba’aneh’s lawyer Riyadh Arda, Mohammad was accused of contact with and assistance to a hostile organization and transporting money for a hostile organization. Adel Saba’aneh tells RNW: “The only thing Mohammad did was contact a publisher in Amman who publishes a book about Palestinian prisoners.” This book was compiled by their other brother, Thamer Saba’aneh. Thamer has been a member of Hamas and was arrested weeks after Mohammad. He is still being held.
Tired of transport and food
Initially, Mohammad denied all accusations. The only reason that Mohammad has accepted the conviction is, according to Adel Saba’aneh, because he could no longer bear the conditions in the prison where he was held. “He’s sick, he was transported to a different place every few days and a pre-existing intestinal condition was aggravated because of the prison food.”Adel Saba’aneh thinks that the cartoons of his brother and his international reputation have played a role in sentencing. “In similar cases, the lawyers say people are often released, but the authorities were determined to convict Mohammad. The longer he would refuse to confess, the higher the sentence would be. They would not let him go.”
Some people have a problem with Saba’aneh’s Cartoons:
by Mohammad Saba’aneh
Mohammad’s brother Thaer Saba’aneh, now arrested, was a specialist in prisoners’ affairs. Perhaps the ‘hostile’ organization was Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Organization, or perhaps Israel considers Mohammad Saba’aneh’s ideas and talent a threat to its national security.
by Mohammad Saba’aneh
The International Council for Human Rights reports Saba’aneh has been actively critical of the Israel’s policies on administrative detentions:
His work is focusing on addressing and supporting the Palestinian hunger striker detainees in the Israeli prisons. Sabaana has received many awards at national and international festivals for his cartoons.
This is what threatens Israel:
This answers the question, “Is Israel a democracy?”
For Palestinians, the answer is a resounding NO.
Palestinians don’t have any rights.
Compare his cartoons with Captain Israel comix, sponsored by StandWithUs. The Captain fights BDS. I don’t think Foreskin Man comix come from this group.
again, why was he imprisoned and sentenced?
As his brother is in Hamas, it’s only logical that Mohammad was in contact with him. It seems that it’s reason enough to convict him – for being a “relative of the enemy of the people”. The Chosen People.
A publisher is a ‘hostile organisation’? The only hostile entity here is Israel and its apartheid justice system. What a trumped-up kangaroo court, determined to silence someone who is far more talented and insightful than the dullards and cowards who populate the israeli ‘justice’ system – itself a joke which Saba’aneh will no doubt capitalise on. When they can’t shut up someone up, this is what they do. This is censorship and stupidity in equal measure. So now Israel is terrified of satire deployed against them – yes, this is a fine example of Israeli-style democracy in action. You know they have lost the battle for public opinion when this is what they are reduced to – the sort of thing typical of Stalinist Eastern European states during the Cold War. Saba’aneh – I hope your work is published widely across the world as a result of this idiocy. More power to your pen, which is much more powerful than the censorious cowardly Israeli state, whose only aim is to break the spirit of people who speak the truth. The truth is the danger that Israeli is terrified of.