Rami Aman released after six months in a Hamas jail, but remains muzzled under threat of re-arrest if he talks peace.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Gaza peace activist Rami Aman was convicted by the Hamas terror group for talking to Israelis, but had his one year sentence suspended and was released from jail, a Gaza human rights organization announced Monday.

Aman — a 38-year-old journalist from the Gaza Strip — was arrested by Hamas in April for what the military rulers called “holding a normalization activity with the Israeli occupation” after he participated in a two-hour meeting with Israelis. titled “Skype With Your Enemy.” The event actually took place on the Zoom platform in a conversation described as a way to “open a channel of communication between Gazans and Israelis.”

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, whose lawyers represented Aman and two of his colleagues, said Hamas had “no legal or factual basis for a conviction” and that the charges “lacked both factual and moral elements.”

The rights group slammed Hamas for its policy of arresting peace activists, saying the Iran-backed terror group “violates the simplest principles of justice” as well as the Palestinians’ “international obligations.” The PCHR also noted that the law Hamas used was “unconstitutional and illegal” because it came from the terror organization, not from any approved Palestinian legislative body.

“I’m a stronger person with the same vision,” Aman told the New York Times, but indicated he wasn’t ready to resume his peace activities and risk getting arrested again. “I need to think about how to approach things in the future.”

Hillel Neuer, director of the human rights watchdog agency UN Watch, had spearheaded a campaign that united 70 human rights organizations who called on the UN Human Rights Council to take action against Hamas on behalf of Aman.

“To all of our followers who over the past 200 days joined us in awakening the conscience of the world about Hamas’ cruel, arbitrary and unjust detention of a peace activist—the most inspiring, visionary and courageous man in Gaza—thank you for helping to #FreeRamiAman,” Neuer tweeted.

The pro-Palestinian group Human Rights Watch, which is normally virulently anti-Israel and supports boycotts against the Jewish State, also weighed in with its condemnation.

“Ramy Aman’s release makes today a good day, but 6+ months in detention & conviction for a video chat with Israelis highlights Hamas’ persecution of those who don’t toe the party line,” tweeted HRW’s local director, Omar Shakir.

Amnesty International, whose former consultant Hind Khoudary alerted Hamas to the Zoom call, has not commented on the release. Despite recruiting 70 human rights NGOs to pressure Hamas to release Aman, Neuer noted Amnesty’s silence on the issue.

“He is a prisoner of conscience. Yet Amnesty International refuses to campaign for his release. Why?” Neuer tweeted last week.

The post Hamas convicts Gaza peace activist for crime of talking to Israelis appeared first on World Israel News.

Rami Aman — a 38-year-old journalist from the Gaza Strip — was arrested by Hamas in April for what the Gaza-ruling terrorist group called “holding a normalization activity with the Israeli occupation.”

By The Algemeiner

Dozens of NGOs issued a joint statement on Monday calling on the UN Human Rights Council to seek the release of a Palestinian peace activist held by Hamas for holding a Zoom meeting with Israelis.

Rami Aman — a 38-year-old journalist from the Gaza Strip — was arrested by Hamas in April for what the Gaza-ruling terrorist group called “holding a normalization activity with the Israeli occupation” after he participated in a two-hour meeting with Israelis titled “Skype With Your Enemy,” which advertised itself as a way to “open a channel of communication between Gazans and Israelis.”

Aman was also a founder of the Gaza Youth Committee, a part of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, which seeks to bring Israelis and Palestinians together to promote reconciliation.

The statement on Aman’s arrest was signed by 70 NGOS, including the Global Human Rights Defense, the Forum Méditerranéen pour la Promotion des Droits du Citoyen and the Japanese Association for the Right to Freedom of Speech, as well as groups from France, Pakistan and Morocco, among other countries. It was accompanied by a complaint registered with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

In the statement delivered before the Human Rights Council by Hillel Neuer, head of the watchdog group UN Watch, the groups said, “Aman has been arbitrarily detained in Gaza for 165 days, in flagrant violation of international law.”

“Our joint complaint demonstrates how the due process rights of Mr. Aman are being egregiously violated,” they noted, pointing out that Aman “has not yet been charged, and never had an opportunity to challenge his detention in court.”

“The detention of Rami Aman constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty on multiple grounds,” the groups charged.

“UN treaty bodies have held the Palestinian Authority responsible for Hamas activity in Gaza,” they concluded. “Will the Working Group hold both accountable?”

The post Dozens of NGOs urge UN action to free Gaza peace activist detained by Hamas appeared first on World Israel News.