Palestinian Legislative Council member, Marwan Barghouti, has been detained without due process or conviction for over 35 days. Barghouti’s lawyers have reported that his life is in danger. He has been subjected to torture in the form of “position abuse,” which caused him to report to prison clinic suffering from back pain and injuries. The Israeli secret services have not been able to get a confession and continue to prolong his detention hoping their torture methods will bring results.

Marwan Barghouti is not the only Palestinian leader being held without due process or trial. The number of Palestinians detained in the past two months is believed to be over 5000 including Palestinian female prisoners who have not been spared from torture. A large number of the detainees are well known political party leaders or members. It is not clear what they are being charged with, for nobody is holding Israel accountable for its violations.

It is important to note that Israel’s use of torture is an official systematic policy defying all human rights and internationally recognized laws concerning the treatment of prisoners. We call on the international community to take firm action against Israeli violations of international law and prisoners’ rights.