Palestinians release activist jailed for Facebook post

JERUSALEM - The Associated Press

The Palestinian Authority has released a prominent activist a week after he was arrested for writing a Facebook post criticizing the government of President Mahmoud Abbas.
     
Issa Amro's lawyer says his client was released Sunday on $1,400 bail on Sunday.
     
Amro was accused of breaking the law by criticizing the government's detention of a journalist earlier this month.
     
Amro's attorney, Farid Atrash, says it is "shameful" his client was arrested for exercising his right of free expression.
     
Rights groups had called on the Palestinian Authority to release Amro, an activist who advocates non-violence and protests against Israeli settlements in his hometown of Hebron.
     
Human rights organizations say there has been a notable increase recently in the number of journalists arrested by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.