ALBAWABA - An Israeli guard reportedly attacked Palestinian prisoner Marwan Bargouti, causing him to suffer a life-threatening injury, according to family members.
According to a source who spoke with Wattan News Agency, Bargouti's lawyers informed his family after a prison visit that several Palestinian prisoners in Megiddo Prison, including Marwan Bargouti, were violently assaulted by guards. According to the source, the Israeli prison guards carried out the assaults between 6 and 12 March.
In a statement condemning recent attacks on Palestinian prisoners, Qadura Fares, director of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, stated that the Israeli Prison Service has increased its assaults on Palestinian detainees since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
Fares stated that the situation inside Israeli prisons is more dangerous than ever and that the lives of all Palestinian prisoners are jeopardized as Israeli authorities tighten their stranglehold.
Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), condemned Israeli abuses against Palestinian prisoners on Monday, particularly Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who has been imprisoned by Israel since 2002.
"We call on the international community, institutions and international organizations to intervene immediately and urgently in order to stop the repressive measures against our prisoners and our leaders in the occupation prisons, protect them, and release them immediately," said al-Sheikh.
