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"sparked outrage among Arab organizations and rights groups, who claim that (he and other activists are) disappeared from their homes in the middle of the night. (The) courts (are also) at the beck and call of security services, who often bar suspects from visits with lawyers or from obtaining legal counsel."
Earlier on April 24, Israeli security forces arrested Balad party's Omar Saeed while attempting to enter Jordan, at first initiating a gag order to prevent reporting it, the same procedure used against Makhoul. After its lifting, reports were that both men are accused of spying and having contact with foreign Hezbollah agents - one of many bogus charges Israel uses to justify arrests, including against human and political rights activists it wants to silence, what all rogue states do to suppress dissent.
On May 10, a mass Haifa rally, sponsored by Balad and Hadash, was held to protest against "an excalating campaign to crack down on Israel's Palestinian citizens," unreported by New York Times writer Ethan Bronner who merely headlined, "Israel: 2 Israeli Arab Activists Arrested" in an article totaling eight lines naming the men, the charge, initial gag order, and that lawyers "for the men said that Israeli espionage laws were overly broad..."
There was no context, no detail, no explanation of the men's human rights activism, or the real reason for their arrests. America's other major media reported nothing.
On May 6, at 3:10 AM, around 20 Israeli police and security forces arrested Makhoul at his Haifa apartment, ransacked the premises, confiscated his computers, cell phones, various documents and maps, including his daughter's research project. At the same time, his Haifa office was raided and possessions there seized. A Shin Bet warrant said only that "secret information" justified it for "security reasons," the usual Israeli pretext when they use any at all.
On May 12, Amnesty International (AI) responded saying:
"Israel must stop harassment of human rights defender" in calling on its authorities to release Makhoul who's been held in detention, denied access to a lawyer, and charged with having "contact with a foreign agent."
AI's Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa Programme, Philip Luther, called Makhoul:
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