The Heinrich Boell Foundation Palestine & Jordan office in Ramallah is deeply concerned by the smear campaign against its partner, the Palestinian Human Rights Organization Al Haq.
Al Haq has been a target of anonymous threats and libel since September 2015. The organization has been falsely accused of financial irregularities and corruption. Its General Director Shawan Jabarin and its representative to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Den Haag have received several death threats. Furthermore Al Haq has been subject to cyber attacks and their email accounts have been hacked.
The attacks and threats are obviously meant to intimidate the Human Rights defenders, who fight against the Israeli occupation and against Palestinian breaches of human rights. Al Haq had pressured the Palestinian government to join the ICC and has, together with other Palestinian Human Rights Organizations presented material to the ICC Prosecutor’s Office, urging it to open an investigation. As a result the Human Rights defenders have been harassed and vilified by official Israeli and anonymous sources.
Al Haq is a prominent Human Rights Organization based in Ramallah. It was founded in 1979. Since that time it has actively defended Human Rights in Palestine, against Israeli and internal violations and has advocated for Human Rights internationally.