JENIN/ZAGREB, Jan 15 (Hina) - Croatian citizen Mariam Melhem, the 19-year-old widow of an Islamic Jihad leader from Jenin, who was killed last November in a clash with the Israeli army, was deported from Israel to Croatia, the
Croatian Interior Ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
JENIN/ZAGREB, Jan 15 (Hina) - Croatian citizen Mariam Melhem, the
19-year-old widow of an Islamic Jihad leader from Jenin, who was
killed last November in a clash with the Israeli army, was deported
from Israel to Croatia, the Croatian Interior Ministry confirmed on
Wednesday. #L#
"Mariam Melhem was deported from Israel on Tuesday due to what the
Israeli authorities described as reasons of national security,"
ministry spokeswoman Zinka Bardic said, adding that the Croatian
authorities were not prosecuting Melhem for any criminal acts and
that she was a free citizen.
The Croatian Embassy in Israel has requested an official
notification from the Israeli authorities on Melhem's deportation,
but has not received a reply so far.
Mariam Melhem, who claims to be a Palestinian with Croatian
citizenship, was deported to Croatia from a prison near Haifa where
she spent 65 days after the death of her husband.
She was arrested on November 9, the same day her husband Iyad
Sawalha was killed in Jenin in a clash with Israeli soldiers who
tried to arrest him.
Melhem, a resident of Osijek, entered Israel five months ago with a
three-month tourist visa.
This is the first time Israel has taken deportation measures
against a member of a Palestinian activist's family.
(hina) rml sb