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View Full Version : Islamic Relief aid worker arrested in Israel



sonz
05-19-2006, 06:55 PM
A humanitarian aid worker from the UK based charity Islamic Relief Worldwide has been arrested by Israeli authorities, Reuters news agency reported.

Ayaz Ali, 36, was arrested on May 9 at an Israeli checkpoint in Jerusalem while on his way to meet his colleagues at Islamic Relief’s West Bank office.

He hasn’t been charged with any offence, and the Israelis claim that he was being interrogated on a security-related matter.

But Islamic Relief expressed deep concern over Ayaz’s wellbeing, saying that he was only involved in charitable work and insisting that the humanitarian agency couldn’t be linked to any criminal or suspect activity.

Islamic Relief is also concerned that Ayaz is being held under West Bank military law despite being detained under Israeli law.

"I was shocked to hear the news and am at a loss to understand why Ayaz has been arrested. Unfortunately, aid workers are an easy target as we have seen in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere,“ said Islamic Relief President Dr Hany El Banna OBE.

“We are concerned that incidents like this prevent humanitarian field workers from carrying out their duties. We hope Ayaz will be released soon and will be able to return to his family,” he added.

Islamic Relief said that it was working closely with the UK Foreign Office and the British Embassy in Tel Aviv to secure Ayaz’s release.

Karen Kaufman, spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, said that British diplomats visited Ayaz in Ashkelon prison and attended remand hearings where he has legal representation.

Ayaz has been working with Islamic Relief for five years and was appointed as Program Manager in the Gaza Strip in December 2005. He was expected to return to Britain next month to attend the birth of his first child.

AlJazeera
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