A/HRC/43/70 permissible restrictions to the right to freedom of expression under international human rights law, and content-specific restrictions may not be imposed solely on the basis that the content may be critical of the government.49 Such measures raise concern about the use of overly broad provisions in the cybercrime decree law.50 On 24 October, the Magistrate Court referred article 39 of the law to the Constitutional Court for an interpretive opinion without changing its original decision. The web pages remained closed as at the end of the reporting period. 44. In March 2019, a man was interrogated by the Gaza internal security agency, which accused him of ties with the Palestinian Authority and Israel for having posted a statement on Facebook criticizing the Great March of Return demonstrations, including Hamas leaders. While in detention, he was blindfolded, beaten, forced into stress positions and threatened with further detention and violence if he continued to criticize Hamas. In a similar case in Gaza, one journalist who posted live feeds on social media during demonstrations was detained for three days. He was severely beaten, interrogated and accused of being instructed by the Palestinian Authority to transmit the demonstrations. He was not officially charged with any criminal offence. 45. In Gaza, on 4 January 2019, unknown assailants who allegedly caused damages worth 170,000 US$ ransacked the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC). Following a reported investigation, the Gaza Ministry of the Interior announced that five men affiliated with Fatah whose salaries had been cut by the Palestinian Authority, one of whom was allegedly working for PBC, were responsible. Fatah and the Journalists’ Syndicate held Hamas responsible for the attack. The authorities in Gaza consequently arrested and detained a 40-year-old journalist for posting a statement blaming Hamas for the PBC attack. During his interrogation, the journalist was blindfolded, beaten with a hose and forced into stress positions. Freedom of peaceful assembly 46. Across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, all three duty bearers continued to interfere with, prevent and forcibly disperse peaceful assemblies, resorting to arbitrary arrest, detention and ill-treatment of protestors. 47. An incident of particular concern was the brutal crackdown by Gaza security forces, between 14 and 16 March 2019, of demonstrations organized across the Gaza Strip over rising living costs, in response to calls by social media activists. Gaza security forces personnel in uniform and men in plain clothes – many of whom were masked and carrying batons – raided the demonstrations, forcibly dispersed participants and prevented them from filming or photographing. A considerable number of participants, including women and children, were beaten and hospitalized, and up to 1,00051 of them were arrested and detained, including children. Hundreds of demonstrators were transferred between various detention facilities and security sites, subjected to beatings and forced into stress positions for considerable periods. In some cases, security personnel forcibly shaved off the hair of male demonstrators. In two separate incidents that took place on 16 March, two boys, aged 11 and 15 years, were hospitalized with leg and head injuries after masked men patrolling the streets beat them with batons. While the 11-year-old boy sustained moderate injuries, the 15-year-old boy was hospitalized in intensive care for two days, requiring surgery to his skull. 48. During a house raid in the context of the March demonstrations, a 49-year-old woman was beaten by the Gaza security forces and consequently suffered fractures to her hand and severe bruising on her body. While being treated in the local hospital, she had to flee through a back exit following another raid of the hospital by security personnel. Several injured demonstrators reported arriving at local hospitals for treatment but declined 49 50 51 10 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 34 (2011) on the freedoms of opinion and expression, para. 43. A/HRC/40/39, para. 60. Independent Commission for Human Rights, the national human rights institution of the State of Palestine (https://ichr.ps/ar/1/26/2629). See also Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 34.