A Palestinian cameraman working for the Reuters news agency has been released after five months detention in Israeli jails, it was reported on Wednesday.
23-year-old Jussry al-Jamal was detained on April 30 in the West Bank city of Hebron as he was filming near a local hospital. "I have been freed. It's good to be out," al-Jamal said during a phone call to his office after being released at an army checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem, according to The Associated Press.
Israeli officials had accused al-Jamal of contacts with armed groups responsible for attacks against Israelis, however had refused to disclose details or evidence supporting their allegations, Reuters reported.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists had protested al-Jamal's detention, and described how he was handcuffed, blindfolded and forced to spend the night in an outdoor holding area without food and water.
Meanwhile, Reuters editor in chief Geert Linnebank said, "We are delighted that Jussry has been released at last, after so many months of detention without charge or trial."
Israel is still holding Hussam Abu Alan, a Palestinian photographer with the French news agency (AFP), arrested in April. (Albawaba.com)
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