The son of jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti was hailed as a “role model” by Spain’s prime minister, after he called for his father’s release at a string of high-profile music events.
Arab Barghouti met with Pedro Sánchez, head of Spain’s governing Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), after addressing a crowd of 75,000 people at Primavera Sound festival on 6 June.
“My father is one of 10,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, but for millions of Palestinians he represents something that Israel cannot imprison: hope,” Barghouti said.
“Hope that Palestinian children will grow up in peace,” he added. “Freedom won in South Africa, in Ireland, and in Algeria, because people like you refused to look away, refused to give up. So keep fighting for Palestine, for Gaza, and for justice.”
Barghouti was invited to Primavera by the band Massive Attack and was due to speak before their show on 4 June. The gig was cancelled due to bad weather so he introduced Gorillaz at the same festival two days later instead.
After the show, Sánchez shared a video on social media in which he praised Barghouti for “speaking out” for Palestinian rights and described him as a “role model”.
Arab Barghouti also spoke at Massive Attack’s show at the Berlin’s Citadel Music Festival on Sunday, thanking them for “always being on the right side of history”.
His father Marwan, 67, is currently serving multiple life sentences after he was captured, convicted and imprisoned by Israel during the second infatada in 2002.
The Palestinian leader – who has been referred to as the “Palestinian Mandela” – was accused of involvement in an attack that killed five Israeli citizens, although his trial and the quality of the evidence was criticised by legal experts.
In 2002, Nelson Mandela agreed to act as an observer in Barghouti’s trial, saying: “What is happening to Barghouti is exactly the same as what happened to me. The government tried to de-legitimise the African National Congress and its armed struggle by putting me on trial.”
In April his lawyers reported a “clear pattern of escalating abuse: violence, medical neglect, and treatment that places him at immediate risk” following three successive attacks in as many weeks, including one in which prison guards set a dog on him.
The same month celebrities including Cate Blanchett, Bryan Adams and Don Cheadle added their names to a statement calling upon his release “as an important step towards reviving a lasting two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
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