Marwan Barghuthi
Marwan Barghuthi ( Arabic مروان البرغوثي, DMG Marwān al-Barġūṯī , Palestinian Arabic : Marwān il-Barghūthi , often written Barghuti or Barghouti ; * June 6, 1959 in Kobar near Ramallah ) is a Palestinian terrorist . He is currently serving a five-time life sentence in Israel for multiple murders and terrorism .
Life
Marwan comes from the well-known and politically active Barghuthi family in the West Bank. At the age of 15, Barghuthi joined the resistance organization Fatah . He later studied at Bir Zait University in the West Bank , where he graduated with a Masters in International Relations .
Barghuthi married a fellow student in 1984. The couple have a daughter, Ruba (1986), and three sons, Qassam (1985), Sharaf (1989) and Arab (1990). Hence Marwan Barghuthi is also known as Abu Qassam and Abu Al-Qassam.
Barghuthi appeared as one of the military leaders of the Palestinians during the First Intifada . In 1987 he was arrested for this and deported to Jordan, from where he could only return after the 1994 Oslo Accords . As a result, he campaigned for the peace process and the establishment of a Palestinian state. In 1996 he was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council, where he was in opposition to Yasser Arafat's government. He criticized corruption and human rights violations by the autonomous authority, but as Secretary General of Fatah in the West Bank was still one of the most important functionaries of the PLO. After the failure of Camp David II in 2000, Barghuthi became disaffected and predicted another intifada.
As the commander of the Tanzim militia in the West Bank, he was one of the leaders of the Second Intifada . He called for an end to the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip by Israel and also approved the action of the militant al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to this end . Barghuthi led demonstration marches to Israeli checkpoints several times, some of which escalated violently. Israel repeatedly accused Barghuthi of being a member of the al-Aqsa Brigades, which Barghuthi denied. He also rejects acts of violence against Israeli civilians, such as those committed by the al-Aqsa brigades. However, the same brigades made him their leader in 2002.
Arrest and trial
As part of Operation Schutzschild , the army arrested him on April 15, 2002 in Ramallah after a lengthy search. He was brought to Israel and held in solitary confinement for a month, interrogated without legal counsel and - according to his own statements - tortured (sleep deprivation, painful bondage (Shabeh), death threats). Only then was he allowed to receive a visit from his wife and his lawyer.
Because of the internationally sensational case, the prosecution decided not to hear the case because of involvement in deadly terrorist attacks before a military court actually responsible for Palestinians , but rather before the civil district court of Tel Aviv, because military courts negotiate outside of the public eye. This approach was problematic because the 4th Geneva Convention forbids processes outside the occupied territories. Therefore Barghuthi fought this decision with the help of several lawyers and also cited his diplomatic status and the fact that he had been removed from the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. After this complaint was not upheld on January 19, 2003, he withdrew his defense lawyers and decided to boycott the trial.
For the actual trial, he also turned down the public defender and forbade him to represent him. He denied both the charges and the legality of the trial and refused to recognize the court as such. Both his lawyer, whose presence in the auditorium was mandated by the court, and the defendant remained passive for the remainder of the trial and did not ask any questions of the approximately 100 witnesses for the prosecution. Only on September 29, Barghuthi spoke for an hour in his closing speech, but did not refer to the charges, but only repeated his rejection of the entire "politically motivated" trial. Only seven months later, on May 20, 2004, he was found guilty by the court and sentenced to five life sentences and 40 years in prison on June 6, 2004, his 45th birthday. It considered established that Barghuthi was implicated in several attacks, including a 2001 attack in Maʿale Adummim that killed a Greek monk, and attacks in 2002 on a gas station, a restaurant and a car bomb attack in Jerusalem, including four Israelis perished.
Activities in prison
Barghuthi was considering succeeding Yasser Arafat and running for the presidency from prison. He was given a good chance of winning the election, because experts believe that both the general public and radical Islamist Palestinians would have supported Barghouti. The Barghuti, regarded as charismatic, had strong popular support; it was especially popular with young people. However, under pressure from his Fatah movement, he decided not to run for the presidential election. Fatah had already chosen the former prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas , who is considered moderate , followed Arafat as head of the PLO and is supported by the United States. Barghuthi now supported Abbas, it was said in press reports. He is co-author of the prisoner's paper published in 2006 .
Marwan Barghuthi is considered a key figure in Ramallah both in the conflict between the two warring Palestinian organizations Fatah and Hamas as well as in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. According to polls from 2012, he could easily beat any Hamas candidate in presidential elections, whether they run for Fatah or as an independent. Political commentators therefore see him as Abbas' logical successor.
In August 2009 he was elected to the Central Committee of Fatah.
At the end of March 2012, on the occasion of the Soil Day , Barghuthi called, completely surprisingly, to end cooperation with Israel. He called for a boycott of goods and the termination of all negotiations between the autonomous authority and Israel. In view of the increased settlement activity, the Palestinians had the "right to all means of resistance to the occupation". He also called on the National Authority to intensify diplomatic activities at the United Nations. After this appeal, he was placed in solitary confinement and banned from visiting.
Attempted prisoner exchange with Shalit
At the end of November 2009 it became known that Marwan Barghuthi was on the list of those prisoners who should be released in the course of a future prisoner exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit , because he had repeatedly spoken out in favor of reconciliation with Hamas. However, Israel has always spoken out against his release in all negotiations, which was one of the reasons why an agreement was not reached for many years. When an agreement on the exchange of prisoners was concluded on October 11, 2011, he was not one of the persons to be released. On this point, the now weakened Hamas had to curtail its demands. Fatah, too, could not be interested in Hamas taking the credit for his release. The proponent of the two-state solution must now wait for another opportunity - for example, if Israel needs a new negotiating partner after Abbas.
family
Marwan Barghuthi is related to the well-known politician, doctor and civil rights activist Mustafa Barghuthi .
Individual evidence
- ^ Profiles: Marwan Barghouti. In: Al-Jazeerah. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011 ; accessed on October 16, 2009 .
- ↑ a b c Profile: Marwan Barghouti. June 2, 2011, accessed August 26, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c Uri Avnery: The tied hands over the head. In: Friday. September 28, 2007, accessed October 17, 2009 .
- ↑ Israel publicized plan Trial Of Emerging Palestinian figure , New York Times
- ^ The trial of Mr. Marwan Barghouti , Inter-Parliamentary Union
- ↑ Freedom for Marwan Barghouti. In: The Swiss Parliament. December 17, 2004, accessed October 17, 2009 .
- ↑ Barghuthi found guilty in murder trial. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. May 20, 2004, accessed October 17, 2009 .
- ↑ Zvi Harel and Assaf Berger friend Court sentences Marwan Barghouti to five life terms. June 4, 2004, accessed August 26, 2014 .
- ↑ Portrait: Marwan Barghouti. In: Frankfurter Rundschau. Retrieved October 17, 2009 .
- ↑ Why is Israel ignoring the next Palestinian president? , Ha-Aretz on December 26, 2012
- ↑ Fatah initiates rejuvenation. In: SZ. August 11, 2009, archived from the original on November 15, 2009 ; Retrieved October 16, 2009 .
- ^ Barghouti calls on Palestinians to launch popular resistance against Israel , Ha-Aretz on March 27, 2012
- ↑ Marwan Barghouti placed in solitary confinement in Israel jail after call for popular uprising , Ha-Aretz on April 1, 2012
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from November 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ The Hamas wish list of prisoners , Ha-Aretz on October 12, 2011
- ↑ Hamas: Shalit deal would have failed ... , Ha-Aretz on October 13, 2011
- ↑ Questions remain over fate of imprisoned Palestinian leader , Ha-Aretz on October 13, 2011
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Barghuthi, Marwan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Barghouti, Marwan |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Palestinian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 6, 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ramallah |