Three weeks after the kidnapping of Johnston, Al Mezan condemns the PNA's failure to secure his release

The kidnapping of the BBC's correspondent Alan Johnston continues as the Palestinian Ministry of Interior and other executive authorities fail to undertake their obligations to secure his release.
Johnston was kidnapped on 12 March 2007 while driving down Al Wehda Street in Gaza City.
Four gunmen in a white vehicle blocked his way and forced him out of his car.
No information on his whereabouts has yet been released.
Al Mezan's concern for Johnston's safety has increased as three weeks have passed since his kidnapping.
The Centre is especially concerned as we have not been informed of any meaningful efforts by the PNA to investigate and identify where he has been held.
The Center questions the PNA's chronic failure to undertake its legal obligations in ensuring the security and protection of all the persons under its jurisdiction, including foreign citizens.
This fact is manifested in the kidnapping itself as well as the long duration of the abduction, during which time there has been a failure to identify the conditions of the kidnapping and/or the identity of the perpetrators.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemns the kidnapping of Johnston as a flagrant violation of human rights, and holds the PNA, both the government and presidency, responsible for failing to take sufficient steps to secure his safety and release.
The Center also condemns the continued acts of abduction in OPT, which are generally undertaken to apply pressure on the PNA, and do not target the victims themselves.
Such conduct, besides being an infringement upon the victims' dignity and wellbeing, has caused much damage to the image of the Palestinian people and has undermined their pursuit of their legitimate rights of self-determination, freedom and independence.
Al Mezan calls upon president Mahmoud Abbas and the Prime Minister Ismael Haniya to take immediate, effective steps towards securing the quick release of Johnston and the bringing of the perpetrators to justice.
The Center asserts that the history of failure to uphold the law in previous cases of kidnapping and other crimes will only encourage them and undermine the rule law in OPT.
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