Horn
9th May 2018, 09:22 AM
Israel has ordered the senior representative of Human Rights Watch in the country to leave within 14 days.
The interior ministry said it had terminated the residency permit of Omar Shakir, who is a US citizen, because he had supported a boycott of Israel.
It based the decision on a government dossier covering his activities over the past decade, almost all of them predating his employment by HRW.
HRW insists that neither it nor Mr Shakir promote boycotts of Israel.
"This is not about Shakir, but rather about muzzling Human Rights Watch and shutting down criticism of Israel's rights record," said Iain Levine, a deputy executive director of the New York-based organisation.
"Compiling dossiers on and deporting human rights defenders is a page out of the Russian or Egyptian security services' playbook."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44052733
The interior ministry said it had terminated the residency permit of Omar Shakir, who is a US citizen, because he had supported a boycott of Israel.
It based the decision on a government dossier covering his activities over the past decade, almost all of them predating his employment by HRW.
HRW insists that neither it nor Mr Shakir promote boycotts of Israel.
"This is not about Shakir, but rather about muzzling Human Rights Watch and shutting down criticism of Israel's rights record," said Iain Levine, a deputy executive director of the New York-based organisation.
"Compiling dossiers on and deporting human rights defenders is a page out of the Russian or Egyptian security services' playbook."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44052733