US brings up treatment of imprisoned Palestinian
The United States and governments in the Middle East have raised the treatment of Marwan Barghouti, one of the most prominent Palestinian political figures imprisoned by Israel, with the Israeli government following allegations from his family and others that he has been physically and psychologically mistreated since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Barghouti has been imprisoned for more than 20 years, and was convicted of murder in 2004. A leader of the second intifada, Barghouti, now 64, received five life sentences, and Israeli officials said he was a terrorist who ordered suicide bombings against civilian targets. Barghouti, who said in court he had no connection to the attacks, is being held in the Megiddo Prison, a maximum-security facility.
Securing Barghouti’s release is a popular cause among Palestinians who see him as a possible successor to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Barghouti has been near the top of Hamas’s list of prisoners it wants Israel to release in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to two Middle Eastern officials who are familiar with the negotiations to secure the release of hostages and a cease-fire. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Barghouti’s son, Arab, who is based in the West Bank, said that after Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked southern Israel and killed about 1,200 Israelis, his father was physically assaulted, placed in solitary confinement in darkness for 12 days, and the Israeli national anthem was pumped into his cell “at a very high volume, from around 5 a.m. until midnight, for many days.”
A lawyer who met with Barghouti this week said in a written report to the Barghouti family that he saw bruising over his right eye and that Barghouti showed him bruising on his back and right foot.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Prison Service said the service “is a law-abiding organization. We have no knowledge of these claims.”
The State Department has not named Barghouti in public statements, but US officials said they are aware of allegations of abuse.
The department said in a statement to the Post that it has informed Israel that it must “thoroughly and transparently investigate credible allegations of and ensure accountability for any abuses or violations.”