FREE MARWAN BARGHOUTI AND ALL PALESTINIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS AND CAPTIVES

1. Marwan Barghouti is one of the most prominent Palestinian political leaders of his generation and a key figure in the Palestinian national movement. His political engagement began at an early stage as a student activist, where he played a decisive role in organizing and mobilizing youth. He was among the founders and early leaders of the Fatah Youth Movement, contributing to its emergence as a mass, democratic, and grassroots youth movement rooted in political education, popular participation, and collective struggle for freedom and national liberation.
2. Through his youth activism and later political leadership, Marwan Barghouti consistently embodied a vision that links resistance to occupation with democratic legitimacy, internal dialogue, and international engagement. Marwan Barghouthi is widely regarded as the “Palestinian Mandela”, He has been a strong advocate of national unity, democratic renewal, and the rebuilding of Palestinian political life based on pluralism, accountability, and the rule of law. His political approach reflects a global understanding of liberation struggles and aligns with universal principles of justice, human rights, and self-determination, values repeatedly upheld by IUSY.
3. Since his arrest in 2002, Marwan Barghouti has remained imprisoned by Israel under conditions that violate international humanitarian and human rights law. Despite this, he has continued to play an active intellectual and political role from within prison, engaging in internal Palestinian dialogue and calling for reconciliation, democratic reform, and a just peace based on international law. His continued detention represents not only the denial of his personal freedom, but a direct assault on the Palestinian people’s right to freely choose their political leadership and determine their collective future.
4. Marwan Barghouti’s imprisonment must be understood within the context of a systematic Israeli prison regime that functions as a tool of political repression and collective punishment. He has been subjected to harsh detention conditions, including prolonged solitary confinement, medical neglect, and repeated threats to his life. These practices form part of a broader pattern of dehumanization and violence exercised against Palestinian political prisoners.
5. The detention of Marwan Barghouti and thousands of Palestinian political prisoners and captives does not take place through genuine legal or judicial procedures, but through military occupation courts that operate outside the standards of international law and due process. Thousands of prisoners, including youth, women, elected representatives, students, and political activists, are held under conditions that constitute grave violations of international law, including administrative detention without charge or trial, torture and ill treatment, denial of family visits, and inadequate medical care.
6. The targeting of Palestinian political prisoners is a deliberate strategy to undermine Palestinian democratic life, suppress political participation, and dismantle popular and youth movements. The imprisonment of recognized political leaders such as Marwan Barghouti exposes the political nature of detention under military occupation. His case stands as a powerful symbol of this wider system of injustice and highlights the urgent need for sustained international action, accountability, and solidarity.

In full continuity with its established positions on Palestine, political prisoners, and international law, the International Union of Socialist Youth demands:

7. The immediate and unconditional release of Marwan Barghouti and all Palestinian political prisoners and captives held under military occupation and arbitrary detention.
8. The immediate end to the use of military occupation courts, administrative detention, and all forms of political imprisonment targeting Palestinians.
9. International action to hold Israel accountable for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including crimes committed against Palestinian political prisoners and captives.
10. Independent international monitoring and accountability mechanisms until all Palestinian political prisoners and captives are released.

In line with previous IUSY resolutions and commitments, IUSY resolves to formally join and actively support the international campaign to free Marwan Barghouti, and to intensify efforts for the liberation of all Palestinian political prisoners and captives by:

11. Mobilizing all IUSY structures and member organizations through coordinated political campaigning, media engagement, social media mobilization, and international advocacy actions;
12. Integrating the issue of Palestinian political prisoners into national, regional, and international political agendas;
13. Strengthening cooperation with progressive parties, trade unions, civil society organizations, and human rights movements;
14. Ensuring that the voices of Palestinian political prisoners, particularly youth and political detainees, remain central within international youth and socialist movements.