Issue No. 605
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26 Sept. - 2 October 2002 Issue No. 605 Special |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
The Intifada man
On 28 March, Israeli undercover forces stormed the Ramallah hideout of Barghouti, the secretary-general of Fatah in the West Bank and member of the Palestinian legislative council, taking him to an undisclosed location. For the following three months, Israel interrogated the popular leader about his role in the Intifada. In July, the Israeli justice system indicted him for leading the uprising and involvement in "terror" against Israel. Barghouti's trial is expected to begin next month.
Why is Israel planning to try your husband before a civilian rather than a military court, as has typically been the case with Palestinian anti-occupation activists?
There is not really a substantial difference between Israel's civilian and military courts. We have to remember that Israel is basically an army with a state, not a state with an army. Thus Israeli courts, whether civilian or military, are nothing but obedient tools in the hands of the Israeli military establishment and the Shin Beth [Israel's main domestic intelligence agency]. I say that because the laws that Israeli courts follow are actually made up of military orders issued by the Israeli army. More to the point, [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon's government chose to try my husband before a civilian court so that the world's attention wouldn't be focused on its notorious military courts where a Palestinian is guilty even if proven innocent.
Guilty even if proven innocent?
Yes, every Palestinian aspiring for freedom, justice, human rights, human dignity and deliverance from Israeli domination and enslavement is guilty [in the view of Israel] even if he or she is not involved in any violent activity.
Are you saying that the entire trial is illegal?
Of course; it is the occupier's court and the occupier's law. It is Israel's diabolic occupation of our homeland that should be on trial, not my husband and thousands of other Palestinians whose only 'crime' is their enduring desire for freedom from oppression and foreign domination.
Was your husband subjected to physical and psychological torture after he was abducted from Ramallah?
Yes he was. For more than five weeks he was subjected to the so-called shabah [the practice of confining a detainee to a very small chair, with his hands tied to his back and legs in fetters]. This was in addition to sleep deprivation and ceaseless personal humiliation. The purpose of the torture was to extract confessions from him.
Your husband intends to defend himself in court. Why?
Barghouti
First of all, we don't believe that Israeli courts have any jurisdiction over the Palestinian people. Palestinians are not Israeli citizens, they don't enjoy any human or civil rights in Israel. Israeli laws don't apply to Palestinians. Therefore, Israeli courts have no right to try Palestinians. Marwan will have a number of lawyers at hand to help him in case he needs assistance, but he will defend himself because he wants to expose the evil nature of the Israeli occupation.
What charges does he face?
The whole thing is a bunch of lies. They accuse him of being the engineer of the Intifada, of murdering hundreds of Israelis and of directing military attacks on Israeli targets. In short, they want to try the Palestinian national movement and even the entire Palestinian people for rising up against Israeli oppression.
Will he present a detailed refutation of the charges?
No, he refuses to even listen to the charges on the grounds that the occupation itself is illegal and whatever emanates from it is likewise illegal.
What will he tell the court?
He will tell them that the Israeli occupation is the source of all violence and tension in Palestine and the Middle East. He will tell them the Palestinian people are the main victims of terror and that the Israeli occupation is robbing Palestinians of their most basic human rights, including the right to life and freedom. He will tell them that people under occupation have the legal right and moral duty to resist the occupier by whatever means available, including military struggle. And he will tell them that he is a man of peace who supports a peaceful settlement to the conflict on the basis of two states for two peoples.
Where is your husband incarcerated?
He is in a sort of solitary confinement at the Hedarim maximum security jail. It is a concentration camp from the inside, a prison from the outside.
I understand that international solidarity with your husband is growing.
Yes. We launched the "International campaign for solidarity with Marwan Barghouti" in Paris, then extended it to Belgium, Germany and South Africa. Several human rights organisations are taking part in this campaign because Marwan is known as man of peace and moderation and as the elected leader of the largest popular movement in Palestine, besides being an elected representative of the Palestinian people.
What actions have you taken to attract international attention to your husband's plight?
Last month I spoke before the European Parliament; before that I met several British MPs who I asked to use their influence to secure Marwan's release. Also, there was a large demonstration in South Africa in solidarity with Marwan. We are doing everything we can to make the world and all peace and freedom-loving peoples throughout the world aware of Israel's flagrant persecution of my husband and my people.
Do you fear for your husband's life?
Oh, yes. The Israeli army is probably one of the most criminal armies in the world. They murder Palestinian civilians in cold blood on a daily basis. They think our lives are expendable and even worthless.
How are you and your children managing?
We bid good-bye to normal life a long time ago. There can be no normal life in the shadow of Israeli tanks training their long barrels at crowded streets and schools. And we actually have no choice but to persevere and be steadfast. This is a battle for freedom, and we've got to win it.
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