Gaza youth movement fears for missing activist

[oberliner]

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- Members of a Gaza youth movement said on Monday that they feared Hamas forces had arrested one of their leaders who went missing two days ago in the Palestinian territory.

The Gaza Youth Breaks Out group said the man, identified only as Abu Yazan, had gone missing shortly after being called in for two separate interrogations by Hamas forces after his return from a speaking tour in France.

They declined to give his name, citing the security of his friends and family.

The 25-year-old was a founding member of Gaza Youth Breaks Out, which grabbed attention with its December 2010 manifesto condemning Hamas, Fateh and Israel, and calling for freedom, "a normal life", and peace.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=413439

[King_David]

1. Gaza Youth Group (GYBO) Leader Arrested by Hamas on Return from France

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/august152011/abu-yazan.php

[oberliner]

2. Hamas releases detained Gaza activist

(AP) JERUSALEM — Hamas security officials released a prominent Gaza rights activist Tuesday, several days after he was repeatedly interrogated and detained over his participation in a French conference about Palestinian activism, his brother said.

Mohammed Matar, 25, was released hours after international media reported his arrest, according to his brother, Salem Matar.

His colleagues had also urged supporters on Facebook to pressure the Hamas government to release him.

Mohammed Matar belongs to a group of activists who held small rallies in March urging Gaza's Hamas rulers to unite with their rivals, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority that rules the West Bank. Palestinians want both territories for their future state, but a reconciliation deal that Hamas and Fatah signed in May has stalled.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/16/ap/middleeast/main20092848.shtml