Barghouti was convicted by an Israeli court of involvement in deadly terror attacks but has been held up by many as a prospective unity candidate to lead a future Palestinian state
December 3, 2025 17:02
More than 200 public figures have lent their names to a letter calling for the release of Palestinian politician Marwan Barghouti.
Barghouti was convicted by an Israeli court in 2002 for his involvement in attacks during the Second Intifada, which killed five civilians. For his alleged role in their murders, he is serving five life sentences plus 40 years in Israeli prison.
Barghouti himself has maintained that the conviction was illegal and illegitimate, claiming that the court lacked adequate jurisdiction and that the evidence against him was flawed.
Despite the case, though, he has been labelled the “Palestinian Mandela” by some activists and held up as a prospective candidate to lead a future Palestinian state.
Among the signatories of the statement are numerous Jewish figures, including actors Stephen Fry, Hannah Einbinder, and Miriam Margolyes, singer-songwriter Paul Simon, and author Naomi Klein.
Other notable names include Mark Ruffalo, Simon Pegg, Sir Ian McKellen, and Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as retired footballers Gary Lineker and Eric Cantona, novelists Sally Rooney and Margaret Atwood, and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.
The world of music also lends several supporters to the cause, including Sting, Jarvis Cocker, Tom Odell, Mabel, Annie Lennox, and Paul Weller.
The full statement on the “Free Marwan” website reads: “We express our grave concern at the continuing imprisonment of Marwan Barghouti, his violent mistreatment and denial of legal rights whilst imprisoned. We call upon the United Nations and the Governments of the World to actively seek the release of Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison”.
Commenting on the letter, Jonathan Turner of UK Lawyers for Israel: “Marwan Barghouti was convicted by an Israeli court of organising the murder of five people in three separate incidents.
"The Israeli court had jurisdiction in accordance with the Oslo II Accord. In denying that jurisdiction, Marwan Barghouti and the signatories of this partition are denying the validity of that agreement and its framework for achieving a peaceful settlement of the conflict.”
Barghouti is seen by many in both Israel and the Palestinian territories as the Palestinian political figure most likely to lead the call for and be able to help effectuate a two-state solution.
In the 23 years since his imprisonment, he has consistently topped opinion polls for the Palestinian leadership.
Recently, in each of six surveys conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research between September 2023 and May 2025, Barghouti has come out on top of the Hamas candidate he has been pitted against when respondents were asked who they would vote for President in a two-horse race.
The last democratic election for the Palestinian leadership was held in 2006, when Hamas was voted in.
Since October 2023, other campaigns have been launched by celebrities weighing in on the Gaza War, including the “Artists4Ceasefire” movement, whose emblem is hand with a red palm, with a black heart inside.
The red hand is frequently associated with the 2000 Ramallah lynching, when two Israeli reservists who accidentally drove into Ramallah were abducted, murdered, and mutilated, with one of the killers leaning out of a window to present his blood-soaked hand to a cheering crowd.
Of Barghouti letter signatories, Hannah Einbinder, Miriam Margolyes, Mark Ruffalo, and Annie Lennox also signed this petition.
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