According to the report, at least 13 prisoners of conscience have been detained since the beginning of the year, while the Palestinian Authority shut down newspapers, research centers, press agencies and radio and television stations that had criticized its policies.

Amnesty denounced violent attacks on journalists, notably Al-Hayat al-Jedida editor Munir Abu Rizq, who was beaten up when he sought to attend a military tribunal hearing in Gaza that condemned two Palestinians to death on charges of murder.

It also criticized Arafat for failing to ratify a 1996 law passed by the Palestinian Legislative Council that would guarantee freedom of expression.