* Journalists urge Palestinian Authority to respect rights

By Noah Browning

RAMALLAH, West Bank, April 3 (Reuters) - Journalists in the occupied West Bank urged the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday to respect freedom of speech after a week in which it detained three vocal critics, including two reporters.

The journalists and a university lecturer were arrested for newspaper articles and Facebook posts that the authorities said were slanderous. The academic remains behind bars.

"We need laws to clarify the rights of journalists, protecting their work and completely removing the threat of detention and interrogation," said Abdel Nasr al-Najjar, head of the Palestinian Journalists Union.

"It's unacceptable that detention for any period should be involved for any charge not related to security," he told Reuters.

While Palestinian journalists have been detained before, the arrest of three people within a week has raised concerns in the West Bank about media rights.

Yousef al-Shayyeb was arrested last month after he published an article reporting on alleged corruption in the Palestinian foreign ministry and suggesting that officials had collaborated with Western intelligence agencies.

He was released on bail on Monday after spending eight days in prison and faces prosecution over his story.

Lecturer Ismat Abdel-Khaleq remains in jail for comments she posted on Facebook in which, prosecutors say, she called for the ousting of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, branding him a "traitor" and a "fascist".

Journalist Tareq Khamees was detained and interrogated on Sunday after he discussed her case on his own Facebook page.

"The authorities are afraid of journalism," Khamees told Reuters, saying he had been questioned five times in the past. "I was questioned on my work as a journalist, and they confiscated the files on my laptop."

Government representatives said Shayyeb did not provide sufficient evidence for his accusations and argue that all three cases represent possible slander.

"Freedom of expression stops at defamation," said Adnan al-Damiri, spokesman of the security services in the West Bank. "It's natural that any citizen can respond to insults and baseless accusations with a lawsuit."

The Palestinian Authority, which has struggled to maintain support as its bid for statehood flounders, receives strong political and financial backing from the West. It recently became a member of the United Nations cultural and education body, UNESCO, which stresses press freedom.

The controversy has flared just as the PA is sponsoring an event to reward press freedom, with a prize due to be given out next month. However, following the recent detentions, the Journalists Union says it will boycott the occasion. (Additional reporting Ali Sawafta; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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