Abed Abu Shehadeh (Image source: X)
He was interrogated about his journalism,” the group said, adding that the case sent a message that a public conversation with a political figure could lead to detention. Following his release, Abu Shehadeh described his detention as “wrongful” and “completely baseless”. He accused the Shin Bet of conducting a “witch hunt” on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alleging that the investigation was intended to intimidate Arab citizens and undermine their political participation. “Arab society has chosen to struggle through democratic means, and no persecution will succeed in silencing us,” he said.
“The police raided his home at night. Israeli authorities on Sunday released Arab-Israeli journalist Abed Abu Shehadeh without charge after holding him for five days over an interview he conducted with a former Israeli lawmaker in Qatar, a legal rights group said.
He was detained on suspicion of having “contacted a foreign agent”, according to an AFP journalist who attended his court hearing. His interrogation by police and Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, focused on a publicly available interview he had conducted with Azmi Bishara, a former member of Israel’s parliament and founder of the Arab political party Balad, Adalah, the legal group representing him, said. Adalah welcomed Abu Shehadeh’s release but said it did not make his arrest any less unlawful.
They also disputed the characterisation of the former lawmaker as a foreign agent. Abu Shehadeh was arrested at his home in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, on Tuesday night by more than a dozen police officers.