A/HRC/37/42 attack that his brother had allegedly conducted. Musa, who denied any knowledge of the attack, reported having been ill-treated during his arrest and detention. He was held for two months in administrative detention and consequently missed his high-school exams. 38. During the reporting period, the Working Group issued an opinion concerning the detention of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy from East Jerusalem, concluding that the nonobservance of procedural guarantees was of such gravity as to give the deprivation of liberty an arbitrary character.69 It is not the first time that the Working Group has qualified as arbitrary instances of Palestinian children detained by Israel. 70 Child detention by Israel might also be considered as arbitrary as it does not appear to be used as a measure of last resort, as required by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 39. Between 1 January and 31 October 2017, the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank reportedly arrested and detained 335 children. 71 This high figure raises concerns as to whether child detention is being used as a measure of last resort in the West Bank. C. Detention for exercise of guaranteed fundamental freedoms 40. The second legal category identified by the Working Group appears to be particularly relevant in the present context. All duty bearers have indeed continued to resort to arbitrary detention during the reporting period, mainly in order to curtail political dissent or the expression thereof and to impede the work of journalists and human rights defenders. Fundamental freedoms, such as the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association, may be restricted, but only as provided by the law and necessary for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, as well as for the protection of national security, public safety, order, health or morals.72 1. Freedom of expression on social media 41. During the reporting period, numerous Palestinians were arrested and charged by the Israeli authorities for incitement on Facebook.73 Situations underlying these charges range from the posting of a picture of a Palestinian killed by the Israeli Security Forces during clashes, to the use of language that could be classified as hate speech. Based on files examined by OHCHR, it is questionable in a number of cases whether the effective incitement potential and the suspect’s criminal intent are sufficiently evident to justify criminal liability. It is not unusual that — shortly before the completion of a sentence for incitement, often based on a plea bargain — a military order is issued to prolong the detention based on security arguments. While some cases may seem justified, it appears that there is a real risk for Palestinians of arrest on grounds of alleged incitement while legitimately exercising their right to freedom of expression on social media. 42. On 24 June 2017, the so-called Palestinian cybercrime law was adopted by Presidential Decree No. 16 of 2017. While it might be a necessary step to regulate the commission of crimes via the Internet, the law raises strong concerns about its potential to curtail free speech. It notably criminalizes the publication of data — and the creation of websites intended to publish such data — that violates public morality and public order, endangers community safety, or insults holy sites, religions and beliefs and family values. Those overly broad terms have the potential to be interpreted to excessively undermine freedom of expression. The law was adopted within a general context of restrictions on 69 70 71 72 73 10 See opinion No. 3/2017, para. 41. See opinions No. 13/2016 and No. 24/2016. Data provided to OHCHR by the Palestinian police. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arts. 19, 21 and 22; see also Human Rights Committee general comment No. 34, paras. 21–36. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Commission, Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Palestinian Prisoners Club, 470 indictments based on Facebook posts were issued from 1 October 2015 to 31 October 2017 (including 220 in 2017).