The following message has been posted on behalf of Derek Gregory.
For those who wish to write letters in support of Ghazi, please send at
least one to the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Peter MacKay.
He may be reached at:
Hon. Peter G. MacKay
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
For those who send a note to our Foreign Minister, there are three key
points the family want people to communicate:
* the academic credentials and reputation of Professor Falah;
* the normalcy of an academic geographer taking photographs; and
* the humane need for contact with a lawyer, consulate staff and family.
Thanks,
Lawrence
------ Forwarded Message
From: Derek Gregory <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 10:05:29 -0700
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Ghazi Falah
Ghazi Falah is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of
Akron, USA. He is a Palestinian-Canadian, who received his PhD from the
University of Durham in the UK in 1982; he has held academic posts in the
UK, Canada, the Occupied Territories and the United States. He is the
editor of the Arab World Geographer, and his research has focused on the
sedentarization of the Bedouin in Israel, the dispossession of the
Palestinians, the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and the geography of
Arab-Jewish cities in Israel.
He was visiting his mother in Israel who was undergoing surgery for a brain
tumour. He was arrested on 9 July in Rosh Hanikra (Ras al-Nakura) in
northern Israel, near the border‚ with Lebanon. He was allegedly taking
photographs in a restricted area ( a tourist beach), though taking
photographs is something geographers do all the time as part of our normal
professional activities.
He is apparently facing a charge of espionage. Those of us who know Ghazi
are convinced that this is ludicrous -- he is a passionate scholar and a
truly gentle man -- but we also know how easily it is in the present
wretched times for a Palestinian with a camera to be made to appear
sinister.
Ghazi was brought before a judge in Akko, who approved the security forces'
request to detain him without charge. Anyone suspected of security
violations may, with court approval, be held without charge for 21 days, and
the detention order may be renewed. The judge in the case imposed a
publicity ban and denied Ghazi access to his lawyer, Hussein abu-Hussein.
Hussein appealed to the district court, but to no avail, and in a hearing on
23 July the judge authorized Ghazi‚s continued detention for four more days.
Hussein has appealed, and the appeal will be heard in the next couple of
days in Hadera (50km south of Haifa) given the bombing of the city.
There is a swelling chorus of international support for Ghazi, including
concerned geographers in Israel as well as others in the USA, Canada and
Europe, and representations have been made to the Canadian and Israeli
authorities by professional organisations and individuals.
More info at: http://www.muehlenhaus.com/ghazi
*********
Derek Gregory
5445 Westhaven Wynd, West Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada V7W3G1
Homepage: http://web.mac.com/derekgregory
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