A military tribunal in Nablus unanimously rejected an appeal against deportation by Akram Haniye, editor of the East Jerusalem Arabic daily A-Shaab. His attorney, Felicia Langer, announced she would take the case to the Supreme Court.
Haniye was arrested and ordered deported last Monday on charges that he was a principal coordinator of Palestine Liberation Organization political activities in the administered territories. The authorities conceded, however, that he was not involved in terrorist activities.
The deportation order will not be implemented pending a decision by the Supreme Court.
The order to expel Haniye to Jordan was angrily protested by Arab journalists and the general population in the territories. The Jerusalem press Association joined the protest after several days of hesitation. It sent telegrams to Premier Yitzhak Shamir and Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres Friday demanding that Haniye be brought to trial if he is suspected of violating the law, not punished before he is proven guilty.
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