... you get a story like this: Abbas Government accused of Torture:
It is important to remember that, from the perspective of many Middle Eastern governments, Al Jazeera represents a dangerous, destabilizing influence.
Who else, between North Africa and Afghanistan, would actually accuse the Palestinian Authority of torture?
More detainees have complained of torture by the Palestinian Authority following the death in custody of a Hamas religious leader in the West Bank.
The family and followers of imam Majd al-Barghouthi say he was tortured to death last Friday, an allegation that the authorities strenuously deny.
Now new allegations have emerged of ill-treatment – even torture – of Hamas supporters held in Palestinian Authority jails.
Four men who were arrested alongside al-Barghouthi told his family that they were all tied up in painful positions during interrogation, and that intelligence officers demanded to know where the detainees had hidden weapons.
Accused of possessing weapons, Azzam Fehil was arrested on February 10 and held for 13 days in the same detention facility as al-Barghouti.
He told Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland that he was handcuffed and suspended by his arms for long periods. He also said he was kicked and beaten.
Fehil said he was released on the same day the imam died.
The Palestinian human rights commission made two requests this month to visit the detention centre, but with no success.
"I've seen lately, since June onwards, the problem of ill-treatment and the usage of torture taking place. And we are talking here of all the areas under the Palestinian Authority," Randa Siniora of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights said.
"With this polarisation and the split - political split - between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, I think the security agenda has been given priority over many over issues."
It is important to remember that, from the perspective of many Middle Eastern governments, Al Jazeera represents a dangerous, destabilizing influence.
Who else, between North Africa and Afghanistan, would actually accuse the Palestinian Authority of torture?
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