The jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti has been attacked three times in recent weeks, including an assault where prison guards set a dog on him, his lawyer has reported. The 66-year-old, often called Palestine’s Nelson Mandela, faces a “clear pattern of escalating abuse” in Israeli jails, said lawyer Ben Marmarelli.
According to Marmarelli, on 25 March prison guards entered Barghouti’s cell in Megiddo prison with a dog and forced him to the ground, where “the dog repeatedly attacked him”. The following day he was assaulted during a transfer to Ganot prison, and on 8 April guards at that jail beat him severely, left him bleeding for more than two hours and denied requests for medical treatment.
Barghouti was convicted of ordering attacks that killed civilians during the second intifada and has been in jail since, spending long stretches in solitary confinement. His trial was criticised as flawed by legal experts, and Nelson Mandela himself reportedly described it as a legal attack on a legitimate political struggle.
On Wednesday, the 24th anniversary of his imprisonment, international celebrities including Cate Blanchett, Bryan Adams and Don Cheadle added their names to a high-profile demand for his release. Marmarelli called for Barghouti’s immediate release, saying: “While Marwan is held in an Israeli jail there can be no way to guarantee his safety.” The Israel Prison Service did not respond to requests for comment.
