Petition to Free Marwan Barghouti

On April 15th, the Israeli army arrested Marwan Barghouti in Ramallah and transferred him to the Moskobiyeh detention center in Jerusalem, where he was held in solitary confinement and tortured, according to his lawyers. More specifically, he was subjected to sleep deprivation and position abuse, whereby he was forced to sit for many consecutive hours on a small sloping chair while his hands and feet were shackled (a common method of torture widely used by Israel known as "shabeh" - for more information see The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, http://www.stoptorture.org.il/).

On May 26, he was moved to the Petah Tikvah detention centre in Israel, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. He continues to be intensively interrogated and tortured. Over a period of 72 hours, he has only been allowed to sleep for two hours per day. Applying a standard Israeli intimidation tactic, his interrogators have made threats to kill him and his 16-year-old son.

Barghouti is not only a popular Palestinian political leader, but also an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament), where he gained preeminence as a determined fighter against corruption and for the sanctity of human rights and for social and economic justice. The Palestinian women's movement has always considered him a valued ally in its own social struggle for emancipation.

He was also one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the peace process and of dialogue with the Israelis when he felt that justice and peace could prevail through a negotiated settlement with Israel. However, when Israel reneged on its commitments under the Oslo peace process -- to implement its scheduled withdrawals from Palestinian territories -- and relentlessly continued its expansion of its illegal colonial settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, Marwan Barghouti was convinced more than ever that peace and occupation could not coexist, and that Israel must commit itself to ending its military occupation for a just peace to be achieved.

Arresting and torturing Barghouti, in addition to incarcerating him in an Israeli detention center without charges or due process, all constitute clear violations of international law and fundamental human rights.

Moreover, they further diminish hope for a peaceful resolution of the conflict based on justice and coexistence, which Barghouti has always been an unequivocal and outspoken advocate of. He wrote in the Washington Post (January 16, 2002):

"I still seek peaceful coexistence between the equal and independent countries of Israel and Palestine based on full withdrawal from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and a just resolution to the plight of Palestinian refugees pursuant to U.N. resolutions."

We, the undersigned, condemn Israel's illegal arrest, torture and detention of Marwan Barghouti, and demand his immediate and unconditional release from Israeli captivity.