Egyptian FM: We are committed to freeing Barghouti from prison
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry announced Saturday that Egypt is investing efforts to release imprisoned Fatah-Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti from Israeli jail.
Shoukry’s remarks came following his meeting with Barghouti’s spouse, Fadwa, in Cairo, during which the two discussed the situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, in commemoration of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, marked on Sunday.
In a statement issued by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry after the meeting, Egypt expressed “deep appreciation for Marwan Barghouti,” stating that it is “decisive to continue the efforts for his release.”
Barghouti’s wife conveyed Shoukry a message from her husband, according to which he “trusts in the central role Egypt plays in returning the Palestinian issue to the center of international attention.”
During the meeting, Fadwa Barghouti said that her husband “has always believed in a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue, considering it a guarantee to the implementation of a two-state solution.
Marwan Barghouti is a senior Fatah leader who was sentenced by the Tel Aviv District Court to five terms of life imprisonment for involvement in the murder of five Israelis during the second intifada that broke out in October 2000. Back then, Barghouti was a commander of al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, which spearheaded the armed struggle in the West Bank.
Today, Barghouti is hailed on the Palestinian street as the Palestinian “Nelson Mandela” and the heir of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The clamor for his release comes amid a wide international campaign to nominate Barghouti for the Nobel Peace Prize. The campaign was launched by the Argentinean human rights activist Adolfo Esquivel, who won the prize in 1980.