DZWatch Exclusive: Alarming reports are emerging regarding the well-being of prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, currently incarcerated in an Israeli prison. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club and the Hamas-affiliated Prisoners’ Media Office have issued separate statements expressing grave concerns over what they describe as a “dangerous and systematic” plot targeting Barghouti’s life.
These warnings follow reports that Barghouti’s family received information indicating he has been subjected to severe mistreatment. Amjad al-Najjar, Director-General of the Prisoner’s Club, stated that the escalation in harsh treatment coincides with growing international calls for Barghouti’s release, suggesting a deliberate attempt by the Israeli government to harm him while in custody.
Al-Najjar characterized the reported treatment of Barghouti as a “complex crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law,” emphasizing that his life is now in “real danger” due to what he described as retaliatory policies implemented by the prison administration against Barghouti and Palestinian prisoners in general. He held Israel fully responsible for any harm that may befall him.
The Prisoner’s Club urged the United Nations and the international community to intervene urgently, dispatching a fact-finding committee to visit Barghouti, assess his conditions of isolation, and exert pressure for his release. The statement further asserted that the threats and systematic abuses against Barghouti and other leading figures within the prisoner movement represent “a new chapter in the policy of slow killing and deliberate liquidation.”
The Prisoners’ Media Office echoed these concerns, stating that Barghouti’s life is under “real threat.” They emphasized that the reported assaults, isolation, denial of visitation rights, and overt threats constitute a “systematic escalation” indicating a clear intention to target him. They also condemned the alleged intimidation tactics used against his family, viewing them as part of Israel’s policy of terrorizing prisoners’ families and pressuring them. The office called on the UN and the Red Cross to launch an immediate investigation and halt the escalating abuses within the prisons. DZWatch is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as they become available.
