International Campaign Launched to Demand Freedom for Palestinian Leader Marwan Barghouti
An international campaign was launched on Monday calling for the release of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who has been held by the Zionist entity since 2002. Barghouti, 66, a senior figure in President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, remains one of the most influential leaders in Palestinian politics.
Barghouti has been serving five life sentences in Zionist prisons on charges linked to the Second Intifada, which began in 2000. The campaign included simultaneous events in London, South Africa, France, Italy, several Arab countries, and Barghouti’s hometown of Kobar in the occupied West Bank.
Over the weekend, events in London featured demonstrations, speeches, and an exhibition of artwork calling for Barghouti’s freedom. France — where more than 50 municipalities have granted Barghouti honorary citizenship — was also a key hub for the campaign’s activities. A delegation of British activists visited Kobar on Saturday, where an artist named Jimmy painted a large mural of Barghouti with the message “Free Marwan” on a football field.
The campaign is being organized alongside human rights institutions, with the participation of several Nobel Peace Prize laureates, noting that “more than 90 people have died” in Zionist prisons since October 2023.
Prisoners’ rights groups say Marwan Barghouti was recently assaulted by Zionist soldiers inside prison, suffering multiple rib fractures. Seen by many Palestinians as the only leader capable of unifying all political factions, Barghouti was excluded from the list of detainees released under the ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on Oct. 10. The deal halted a two-year Israeli offensive that has killed more than 70,000 people — mostly women and children — and wounded over 171,000 since October 2023.
