A MURAL has been unveiled at the International Wall dedicated to jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti.
Marwan Barghouti, often referred to as Palestine’s Nelson Mandela, has been in prison in Israel since 2002.
He was abducted from Ramallah by Israeli soldiers disguised in an ambulance whilst serving as an elected member of the Palestinian Authority. Taken to Israel in violation of the Geneva Conventions and later convicted in a widely condemned trial for allegedly directing attacks on soldiers and civilians during the Second Intifada, he denies the allegations against him.
Born in 1959 in the Occupied West Bank, he joined Fatah as a teenager, and went on to be a leader of its youth movement. Leading protests as a schoolboy in Ramallah, he was repeatedly arrested for his political activism. In 2002, Nelson Mandela called for his release publicly stating: "What is happening to Barghouti is exactly the same as what happened to me.”
At the launch on Friday with Mothers Against Genocide
Even after 20 years in prison, Barghouti remains Palestine’s most popular leader with polls consistently showing widespread support for him in both Gaza and the West Bank. He has led hunger strikes to protest torture, solitary confinement and medical neglect.
He is one of 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners, including 350 children, currently being held by Israel in its network of prisons. Last year the Palestinian Commission on Detainees affairs said it feared for Marwan’s life, citing reports of intensified violence and torture, deteriorating health and extreme isolation.
On Friday afternoon, a mural was unveiled to him at the International Wall on the Falls Road, attended by his son, Arab Barghouti.
He thanked the artists behind the mural and spoke about the ongoing struggle for justice and freedom.
"This mural will go down in history," he said.
"My father's face is the face of the Palestinian struggle. My father always said that the first day of peace will be the last day of occupation. We will never have peace until the end of occupation.
"It is a long road to freedom to get our independence. I hope one day soon my father will come to Belfast to thank each and every one of you for your support."
