A mural depicts Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti along the separation wall in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, on December 24, 2024. Archive photo Ahmad Gharabli/AFP
"These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a clear trend of worsening abuse: violence, medical neglect, and treatment that puts him in immediate danger," said Ben Marmarelli, Marwan Barghouti's lawyer, after visiting him in prison. He described on X three episodes of mistreatment endured by his client, since late March, denouncing his conditions of detention.
"On April 8, at Ganot prison, he was violently beaten and left bleeding for more than two hours. He asked for medical care, but was refused any treatment. On March 25, he was assaulted during his transfer from Megiddo to Ganot. On March 24, at Megiddo prison, guards entered his cell with a dog, pinned him to the ground and the dog attacked him several times."
These are forms of treatment to which the most well-known Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody, known as the "Palestinian Nelson Mandela," has previously been subjected, especially since Oct. 7, 2023, after which Israel launched its full-blown war on Gaza. Barghouti has reportedly been transferred multiple times from one prison to another and placed in solitary confinement, with ultra-nationalist Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir infamously taunting him in his cell in August 2025. This marked Barghouti's first public appearance in a decade, thinner and in handcuffs, while even his own family had not been able to see him in recent years. His son, Arab Barghouti, later said he feared for his father's life after reports emerged that he had been beaten unconscious by eight Israeli prison guards, details corroborated by former detainees.
While Hamas called for his release as part of planned prisoner-hostage exchanges during cease-fires in the enclave, the Israeli state, which sentenced him to five life sentences in what many human rights organizations consider political trials, has always refused. Marwan Barghouti is also seen as a threat politically in the eyes of Israel, as he is the most popular political Palestinian figure, not tied to any one political party, and would be capable of uniting various national movements otherwise fractured by Israel's divide and conquer policies.
The attacks reported by his lawyer also come after Arab Barghouti announced two months ago that his father, 66, would be releasing his writings in a collection at the end of the year. The book, titled "UNSHAKABLE: In Search of Freedom for Palestine," is due to be published in November, according to AFP. After twenty-four years spent in Israeli jails, Marwan Barghouti's "mind remains sharp, focused, and deeply attentive to everything happening beyond the prison walls," his lawyer stressed, who reportedly gave him news of his family and updates on the Israeli-Palestinian situation, despite a conversation disrupted by malfunctioning phones.
