by Annie Robbins on April 12, 2013 2

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 Courton 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.

……..

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:

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails by Mohammad Saba’aneh Apr 27, 2012