AP reports that three former Fatah security men were convicted of killing two Palestinian journalists in Gaza in 2007. But the case isn't so cut and dry.
The defendants Shadi Madhoun, Read Magossi and Shadi Ahmad were convicted by a Hamas military court and sentenced to death.
They killed Suleiman Ashi and Mohammed Abdo who both worked for Felesteen, the newspaper which serves as Hamas's daily mouthpiece of Hamas. Ashi was the paper's economics editor and Abdo was a manager.
This raises a few questions.
Should anyone working for a terrorist newspaper be considered a journalist?
The Committee to Protect Journalists, for example, treats Ashi and Abdo as such. I don't agree. As the Washington Times once pointed out, "Any entity maintained by a terrorist group — whether masquerading as a charity, a business or a media outlet — is as culpable as the terrorist group itself." This isn't to say that their ties to Hamas mitigates the murder. But labelling them as journalists is dubious.
Will human rights groups and journalism organizations vociferously condemn the capital punishment?
Don't hold your breath. Any criticism, at best, will be muted.
The Media Line has more coverage of the death sentence.
Will the execution give Hamas P.R. points for bringing some law and order to Gaza?
I doubt it. Gazans know the execution has political undercurrents and journalists won't feel any safer.
If anything, the yet-unscheduled executions will intimidate even pro-Islamist "journalists" who have to pay license fees and have Hamas media credentials. The Gaza media is learning that resistance ain't tax free. The execution allows Hamas to flex its muscles.
Can Madhoun, Magossi and Ahmad be considered political prisoners?
They killed two men, so spinning them as anything but murderers is a stretch. To generate sympathy for the Fatah 3, you'd have to say killing the "journalists" was a legitimate act of resistance. Now there's a slippery slope for the NGOs and journalist organizations.
