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The Prisoners’ Media Office, Asra, has sounded the alarm over the horrific abuse endured by high-profile Palestinian prisoner Abdullah al-Barghouti, describing his condition as the result of a “systematic assassination attempt” involving brutal physical torture and psychological torment.
“In the dark cell, where there is no sunlight and no medicine, the body is crushed just as the will is—unless one’s heart clings to the sky of truth and their soul is woven from the patience of mountains,” the Asra office said in a statement.
Recent reports reveal that the 53-year-old is subject to increasingly violent assaults, including severe beatings that have left his body covered in bruises, his head swollen and bloodied, his eyes puffed shut, and his ribs fractured—causing unbearable pain and robbing him of sleep.
‘Daily chapters of excruciating pain’
Asra Media Office shared a chilling testimony from his daughter Tala, lamenting that al-Barghouti “endures daily chapters of excruciating pain” as a result of systematic torture and deliberate medical neglect—what the office has condemned as a “slow, intentional execution.”
“My father no longer sleeps lying down — pain devours his body. He sleeps sitting up, and his weight has dropped below 70 kilograms,” Tala said. She added that prison guards empty al-Barghouti’s cell of all other inmates before each torture session, leaving him utterly defenseless.
“Iron rods and unrestrained brutality rain down on his frail body, breaking his bones and compounding his suffering to the point where he can no longer stand,” her testimony continued. Open wounds and boils are left untreated, forcing fellow prisoners to attempt care with rudimentary materials, further threatening his life.
In another statement on Tuesday, April 29, Asra Office revealed that Israeli prison suppression units, under the command of an officer named Amir, routinely storm al-Barghouti’s cell and beat him until he bleeds. Dogs are then released to maul his battered body. “Let the dogs have some fun with him,” Amir reportedly orders.
The torture doesn’t end there, as prison guards pour hot dishwashing liquid onto al-Barghouti’s wounds to intensify the pain. Officers taunt him during these sessions, saying: “You were once a leader—now you’re nothing. You should die.”
Due to the unrelenting torture, al-Barghouti has fallen into repeated comas — likely signs of traumatic brain injury caused by sustained Israeli torture.
Asra says his hand was recently wrapped in a garbage bag and a cardboard toilet paper roll in place of any proper medical dressing—emphasizing the complete absence of medical care.
‘A stain on the conscience’
Tala’s account, confirmed by Asra’s latest statement, reveals that al-Barghouti is no longer able to sleep normally and is forced to sit curled on the floor due to the pain. He hasn’t been allowed to bathe for 12 days, and his ability to chew is so compromised he can only consume water-soaked bread.
Asra has fiercely condemned the deafening international silence that has emboldened Israel to escalate its crimes—calling the torture of al-Barghouti“a stain on the conscience of all who claim to defend human rights.”
“Today, Abdullah al-Barghouti is not only serving a life sentence—he is enduring a slow death sentence under a regime of escalating repression and intentional medical neglect targeting Palestinian prisoners, especially those in solitary confinement,” said the group.
In a plea to “save a life fading behind walls of silence,” Asra called on international human rights organizations—especially the International Committee of the Red Cross—to urgently visit al-Barghouti and assess his condition.
Al-Barghouti, known as the “prince of the shadows,” is a prominent leader in Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. Arrested in 2003, he is serving 67 life sentences in Gilboa prison in northern Palestine.
As Israel continues its live-streamed genocide in Gaza, it has simultaneously intensified its abuses against Palestinian prisoners. Since October 2023, 65 Palestinian detainees—including a child— have died in Israeli custody amid well-documented torture.
There are nearly 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails, including around 400 children and nearly 4,000 people held without charge or trial.
