Marwan Barghouti ‘brutally assaulted’ while in solitary confinement in Israeli prison

A lawyer from the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, an organisation affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, has reported that Marwan Barghouti has been “brutally assaulted” in Israel’s Megiddo Prison. The attack on Barghouti and some other prisoners took place in the prison early last month, but has only just come to light because visits have been banned for the past three months.

“A unit of the prison’s repressive forces brutally assaulted Barghouti in solitary confinement on 9 September,” explained the lawyer. “They used various tools of torture and beating, causing many injuries to his body, including his ribs and limbs, as well as bleeding in his right ear, a wound in his right arm and an injury to his back.”

Senior Fatah official Barghouti has been subjected to two brutal beatings in the past year. He has also been held in solitary confinement since the beginning of the aggression against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in October last year. The first attack was in December in Ofer Prison’s isolation cells, followed by a second attack in Megiddo Prison on 6 March.

“The latest attack last month was similar to the one that took place in Megiddo Prison isolation cells in March,” explained the Free Marwan Barghouti and All Palestinian Political Prisoners international campaign. “However, it was of a more brutal nature and was intended to cause severe physical damage.”

The detainees’ commission called on international institutions and organisations to do their duty to protect Barghouti and other male and female Palestinian prisoners in accordance with international law. It criticised what it described as “the paralysis that afflicts international and human rights organisations when it comes to the rights of the Palestinian people and the crimes of genocide that are being committed, which encourages the occupation regime to continue its aggression and crimes after constantly escaping accountability and punishment.”

The organisation saluted Barghouti and all the struggling prisoners for their steadfastness and determination. “They will not be broken, as their strength comes from the will of the Palestinian people. Their freedom is part of the freedom of the Palestinian people. The attacks and crimes they are being subjected to are an extension of the brutal, vengeful war against their people and nation.”

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