The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs stated that the representative of the Legislative Counsel and the member in the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement, the leader Marwan Barghouthi, enters his 18th years in jail, where he was abducted in 15/4/2002 and sentenced to 5 life sentences in addition to 40 years.
The report showed that Israel arrested the leader Marwan Barghouthi in 2002 when he was the secretary-general of the Fatah movement and a deputy member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. His arrest headed the international and even Israeli public opinion, which considered his arrest as a political detention and a war against the late president Yaser Arafat at that time.
Barghouthi was interrogated for 100 days in various detention centers such as Maskoubya, Betah Tekva, Jalameh and the confidential prison. The interrogation revolved around his relationship with Yaser Arafat and funding the Intifada activities, in an attempt to condemn the late president Yaser Arafat whom Sharon considered a non-partner and imposed a siege on his residence, destroyed the headquarters of the PA and reoccupied the Palestinian areas in a process called "protective wall."
The leader Marwan Barghouthi refused many time to recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli court, considering his detention "null and void" and he submitted an indictment against the Israeli policies. He made a heated debate in the Israeli community, who realized that his detention distorted the moral image of Israel. Many municipalities in the world, especially France put his picture in front of its doors. He became a national symbol of the National Liberation Movement and a defender of freedom and human justice.
The Commission pointed out that Barghouthi has obtained his doctoral degree from inside the prison, and that he led the educational process of detainees in Israeli jails to assure the national constants of the Palestinian people.
It is worthy to mention that Marwan Barghouthi led the dignity hunger strike in 2017 to unite the captive movement against the Israeli policies and violations. That strike included more than 1000 Palestinian detainees and lasted for 42 days, in which detainees were subjected to brutal attack by the Israeli authorities.