Barghouti pressured, assaulted by Israeli guards, son says - Exclusive
Arab Barghouti, the son of prominent Palestinian detainee Marwan Barghouti, speaks with Al Mayadeen, on Monday, October 28, 2024 (Al Mayadeen)
The son of prominent Palestinian leader and detainee Marwan Barghouti expressed deep concern after emerging reports about his father being subjected to brutal assault at the hands of Israeli prison guards and said he fears leaving Palestinian detainees at the mercy of the brutal conditions in occupation prisons.
"What we have heard about my father’s condition is very distressing for us as a family, especially after he was assaulted by prison guards," Arab Barghouti told Al Mayadeen.
He pointed out that since October 7 last year, Barghouti has been subjected to pressure, beaten, and forcefully dragged and has been transferred between four or five Israeli prisons.
"Despite everything he is enduring, my father met his lawyer with his head held high and his usual smile," Barghouti said, adding that his father reaffirms to the Palestinian people and the world that "he stands firm against the occupation."
According to the Palestinian leader's son, Barghouti's message has been clear throughout the past 22 years, "His sole concern is uniting the Palestinian people."
"We are optimistic and fully trust the negotiators that our detainees, including my father, will be freed from prison," the leader's son said.
Elsewhere, Barghouti told Al Mayadeen that Palestinian detainees are "freedom seekers who have rejected oppression and occupation."
"If we abandon them, then we are of no good."
Barghouti, nicknamed the "Palestinian Mandela", played a key role in both the first and second Intifadas (uprisings) and was sentenced by an Israeli court in 2004. His release has been a primary objective for various Palestinian Resistance groups opposing the Israeli occupation.
Barghouti, 12 other detainees subjected to brutal Israeli assaults
In the same context, the head of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, Qadura Fares, told Al Mayadeen that Barghouti, along with 12 other detainees from various factions, was subjected to brutal assaults by Israeli prison forces at Megiddo Prison.
Previously, a lawyer from the commission confirmed that during a recent visit, Barghouti reported being attacked with repressive tools and endured severe physical abuse, resulting in injuries across his body, fractured ribs, bleeding from his right ear, a wound on his arm, and persistent back pain.
The attack, which took place in September, was part of a series of recurring incidents involving the Israeli prison’s special units.
Fares condemned these repeated assaults, stating, "There is no justification for these attacks, which are systematically directed at detainees."
The Fatah Central Committee also strongly condemned the repeated brutal assaults against its member leader Marwan Barghouti.
It was noted that Barghouti has been gradually recovering in the weeks following the incident, during which he experienced difficulty moving, chest and back pain, and infections in his wounds and ear due to the blood clot caused by the bleeding, as he was denied any treatment or medication.
Barghouti had previously suffered two brutal assaults in the past year and has been held in solitary confinement since the beginning of the war on Gaza. The first assault occurred in December in the isolation cells of Ofer Prison followed by a second assault at Megiddo Prison on March 6.
The Popular Campaign for the Release of Barghouti and the detainees called on international institutions and organizations to fulfill their duty to protect the prominent leader and other detainees, in accordance with international law.
It added that the paralysis affecting international and human rights organizations when it comes to the rights of the Palestinian people and the crimes of genocide being committed is what encourages the occupation to continue its aggression and crimes.
Read more: Marwan Barghouti's 22 years of resistance in Israeli prisons