Abed Abu Shehadeh, a Palestinian journalist, political analyst and senior activist in Balad, has been released from custody without charges following his arrest over suspected contact with a foreign agent. His detention drew criticism, including a call for his release from three newly elected Jewish Democratic members of the United States Congress.
Abu Shehadeh, who holds Israeli citizenship, was arrested by the Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, and Israel Police. Authorities also searched his home when he was taken into custody on Wednesday. His release was reported as coming five days after his arrest. No charges were filed against him.
His defense lawyers had argued that the investigation rested entirely on an interview he had conducted with former Knesset member Azmi Bishara. They said the interview had been published and was available to the public, and maintained that conducting it was legitimate journalistic work that did not justify criminal suspicion.
Adalah, a legal rights organization involved in Abu Shehadeh’s defense, said his interrogation dealt exclusively with that interview, which took place in Qatar before the election. According to the organization, police did not put any other allegations to him during questioning. Its account placed the published interview at the center of the investigation.
The conversation with Bishara covered the Israeli election campaign and Palestinians, according to Abu Shehadeh’s lawyers. Alongside their argument that the interview was legitimate reporting, the lawyers challenged the characterization of Bishara as a foreign agent. They argued that interviewing him offered no grounds for suspecting Abu Shehadeh of a criminal offense.
On Friday, Congressmen-elect Brad Lander of New York, Daniel Biss of Illinois and Scott Wiener of California joined calls for Abu Shehadeh to be freed immediately. The three newly elected Jewish Democrats expressed their concerns about the detention in a joint letter to Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States.
Their letter urged the Israeli government to release Abu Shehadeh immediately. It also set out what they sought if authorities filed charges: disclosure of the evidence to his legal representatives and an open judicial process that provided full due-process protections. Abu Shehadeh’s subsequent release came without any charges being brought.
