Israeli Judge Refuses to Extend Detention of Al-Alam Journalist

On Sunday, June 16, Israeli police released the journalist from the Iranian Al-Alam network after the court did not agree to extend his detention. However, the Al-Alam journalist will be subject to house arrest for the next five days. Last Wednesday, Israel detained Bassam Al-Safadi, who was reporting for the Arabic-language Iranian state TV from the Golan Heights, on charges of 'incitement' and spreading false information against Israel. The Nazareth court in northern Israel had only authorized the police to detain Mr. Al-Safadi until Sunday, June 16. According to Israeli media reports, on Sunday, the police requested to extend Mr. Al-Safadi's detention on charges of 'participating in anti-security activities,' claiming that releasing him would disrupt evidence collection. However, according to Ynet, the judge rejected the police's request and gave them five days to present any evidence against Mr. Al-Safadi to the court. An Israeli police spokesperson had previously accused Mr. Al-Safadi of supporting 'a terrorist organization.' However, Ynet reported that Mr. Al-Safadi stated on Sunday, 'As a journalist and as a resident of the Golan, I oppose terrorism.' Additionally, according to this report, after his release, the journalist said in a phone interview with Al-Alam, 'I was under interrogation the entire time; my basic rights were violated; they want to prevent media freedom.' Bassam Al-Safadi is a Druze Arab from the settlement of Majd al-Shams in the occupied Golan. Al-Alam reported that Israeli police also searched Mr. Al-Safadi's home and confiscated some of his journalistic equipment. Hussein Mortada, the director of Al-Alam in Syria, told AFP that Mr. Al-Safadi worked for this office. Al-Alam stated that Al-Safadi had published 'impactful reports on the theft of oil from the Golan by the Zionist regime.' In January 2009, when Israel was on the brink of a military attack on Gaza, another Palestinian journalist from Al-Alam, Khadr Shaheen, was detained on charges of 'prematurely revealing the attack.' Despite the enmity between Israel and Iran, various networks of the Iranian state media, including Press TV and Al-Alam, have had numerous journalists in Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the West Bank for many years, which has surprised some Israeli lawmakers.