Givara Budeiri, a veteran journalist who works with Al Jazeera Arabic has been released from custody several hours after she was arrested by Israeli police while covering a protest in Sheikh Jarrah in Palestine on Saturday.
Israeli police assaulted Budeiri while arresting her and destroyed equipment belonging to Al Jazeera cameraman Nabil Mazzawi.
“They came from everywhere, I don’t know why, they kicked me to the wall,” Al Jazeera quoted Budeiri as saying, moments after her release late on Saturday.
“They kicked me inside the car in a very bad way … they were kicking me from everywhere,” she adds.
Budeiri was reporting a demonstration marking the 54th anniversary of the Naksa, meaning “setback”, a term Palestinians use to describe the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip in 1967.
Budeiri has worked as a journalist for Al Jazeera since 2000.
Commenting on the arrest, Dr Mostefa Souag, acting director general of Al Jazeera Media Network said: “We condemn the actions of the Israeli occupation forces in the strongest terms. The systematic targeting of our journalists is in total violation of all international conventions. Today’s violent actions by Israeli occupation forces against Givara Budeiri and Nabil Mazzawi are in total disregard for the fundamental human rights of journalists.”
The journalist left hospital on Sunday after receiving treatment for injuries sustained during her arrest. She sustained a fractured hand.
