| APPEL |
Paris,
26rd of April 2002 |
On Monday
April 15, 2002 the Israeli army (Tsahal) cooperating with the Israeli
secret services (Shin Beit) arrested Marwan Barghouti and his bodyguard
Ahmad Barghouti in Ramallah.
According to Prime minister Ariel Sharon, Marwan Barghouti shall be tried
by an Israeli court, he is charged with being one of the leaders of the
Intifada, the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people against Israeli
occupation.
Marwan Barghouti is General secretary of Fatah, President Arafat’s
Party, a member of the Palestinian National Council (the Palestinian Parliament)
In his fight for independence of Palestine, Marwan Barghouti has always
been a man of peace, in close contact with the Israelis who work for a
fair solution. Always a believer in dialogue, he marched arm in arm with
Meretz MKs , Dedi Zucker and Zahva Gal-On. He declared on several occcasions
:
" I am still seeking for a peaceful coexistence between two equal
countries, Israel and Palestine, based on the total withdrawal of the
Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and a fair settlement to the
sufferings of the Palestinian refugees, according to the UNO resolutions
. I am not aiming at the destruction of the state of Israel but only at
putting an end to the occupation of my country. "
The case of Marwan Barghouti is emblematic of a situation which has generalized
since the beginning of " Operation defensive shield " : more
than 7,000 have been arrested, among them many children. They have been
jailed in prisons and detention centers recently created. The condititions
of their detention are critical, crammed in big cages with about fifty
people in each cage, standing in the cold with their hands bound.
Marwan Barghouti himself is subjected to psychological and pysical tortures,
such as sleep deprivation and intensive interrogations which can last
up to 60 hours non-stop.
The international comittee for the release of Marwan Barghouti deems
these acts to be serious breaches to International human rights, in particular
regarding the Fourth convention of Geneva relating to the protection of
civilians in time of war, article 3 common to the four Conventions, international
conventions for the protection of the rights of man, in particular articles
9 and 11-2 of the Universal declaration of human rights, Convention against
torture, article 37-b of the Convention relating to the rights of children,
article 6 of the International convention on the elimination of all forms
of racial discrimination, articles 5 and 6-1 of the European convention
of Human rights, articles 9-1 and 10-1 of I.PC.P.R (International pact
for civilian and political rights) and almost all UNO resolutions.
The International committee for the release of Marwan Barghouti
reproves the detention of Palestinian MP Marwan Barghouti, arbitrary and
illegal arrests, degrading and humiliating treatments inflicted primarily
upon the Palestinian civilian population.
The International coommittee for the release of Marwan Barghouti
demands that the Israeli government put an immediate end to the violations
of human rights perpetrated by Tsahal, the immediate release of Marwan
Barghouti and all the Palestinian detainees, in particular those underage,
the end of illegal arrests and that peace talks be resumed, for peace
cannot exist without the end of Israeli occupation and discrimination.
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