AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Media Advisory

AI Index: MDE 15/009/2009

19 January 2009

Amnesty International delegates available for interviews from Gaza

An Amnesty International fact-finding team arrived in Gaza City on Saturday, 17 January, hours before the Israeli government announced a ceasefire. The delegates are available for interviews from Gaza on their initial findings.

The team travelled to Gaza by way of Egypt, entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, and then travelled by road north to Gaza City. Previously, Amnesty International made repeated requests to the Israeli authorities to enter Gaza via the Erez crossing from Israel, but without response. The Israeli authorities have barred virtually all access to Gaza by international human rights workers and journalists since early November 2008.

To arrange for an interview with one of Amnesty International’s delegates, please contact Brian Dooley in Gaza on: +44 7904 398 357 (mobile), bdooley@amnesty.orgor Nicole Choueiry in London on +44 7831 640 170, nchoueir@amnesty.org.

Biographical information:

Donatella Rovera is a researcher on Israel-Occupied Palestinian Territory. Her background is political science specialising in Middle Eastern politics and economics. She has worked for Amnesty International in the Middle East Programme for 16 years, mostly in countries in war situations.

ChristopherCobb-Smithis a former officer in the British army, where he acted as an instructor in the use of artillery. He has also worked as a weapons inspector for the UN.

For more information on Amnesty International's work on Gaza, please visit http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/israeli-army-shells-un-compound-20090115

or read Amnesty International blog from Gaza – http://livewire.amnesty.org/category/gaza-israel/

Public Document

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International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK www.amnesty.org