Prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti assaulted three times in a month, family says

The family of the most prominent Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti, says that he has again been subjected to physical violence behind bars in Israel.

Arab Barghouti told the BBC he was "shocked and appalled" to hear from his father's Israeli lawyer that he had been assaulted three times by Israeli prison guards in the past month.

The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) said that "the allegations made are false and baseless".

Marwan Barghouti was convicted by an Israeli court of planning deadly attacks against Israeli civilians and is currently serving five life sentences plus 40 years.

He was arrested exactly 24 years ago, at the height of the Palestinians' second intifada, or uprising. He had set up the Tanzim, an armed wing of the Fatah political faction.

Opinion polls indicate that despite his imprisonment, Barghouti is the most popular Palestinian leader. He remains a member of the Fatah Central Committee.

Many Palestinians view the 66-year-old as their equivalent of South Africa's Nelson Mandela and point to his ability to unite different political factions and his past rapport with Israeli leaders.

Arab Barghouti argued that his father's prominence had led to him being singled out for attacks and abuse.

"He's someone who represents hope for unity, for democratic renewal, for a better future for the Palestinian people," he said. "He's a target because he gives hope to the Palestinian people."

The Israeli lawyer, Ben Marmarelli, visited Marwan Barghouti in prison on Sunday.

He wrote on X that, three weeks earlier, guards entered his client's cell in Megiddo Prison and repeatedly attacked him with a guard dog. He said that he was then beaten during his transfer to another Israeli jail.

One week ago, in Ganot Prison, Marmarelli said that Barghouti was "severely beaten and left bleeding for more than two hours. He requested medical care and was denied treatment".

The IPS said it was "not aware of any incidents as described, and to the best of our knowledge, no such acts have occurred in its facilities".

"All inmates receive medical treatment in accordance with the professional judgement of medical officials and subject to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health," it wrote in a statement.

Since the deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the Gaza war, UN agencies and Israeli rights groups have reported an increase in claims of abuse of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including routine beatings, sexual violence, starvation and severe medical negligence. Dozens of Palestinians are reported to have died in detention as a result.

Human rights groups put this down to an established Israeli policy, pointing out how some Israeli officials, including the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have called for harsher conditions.

Last year, the United Nations Committee against Torture said it was deeply concerned about reports indicating a "de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture and ill treatment" of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

The IPS denies claims of systematic abuse and states that incidents of individual misconduct are investigated.

In September, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that Israeli prisons were failing to provide enough food for Palestinian inmates and ordered conditions be improved.

There are currently 9,560 Palestinians held in jail whom Israel classes as security prisoners, according to IPS figures. They include more than 3,500 in administrative detention without trial or charge.

Marwan Barghouti is understood to have been kept in solitary confinement for the past two-and-a-half years. His family says he has previously been severely beaten by Israeli guards, and that on one occasion he suffered four broken ribs and head injuries.

Last year, Ben-Gvir shared a short clip on social media of him confronting Marwan Barghouti in his cell.

It was the first time that the famous prisoner had been seen publicly in years, and he appeared aged and gaunt.

Arab Barghouti said he was "enraged" that Western leaders did not speak out against the "disgusting" treatment of prisoners, saying this led to "the dehumanisation of Palestinians".