Barghouti to be tried

[Macdonald Stainsby <mstainsby@xxxxxx>]

Reuters; AP. 11 July 2002. Barghouti to be tried in connection with
attacks on Israelis.

JERUSALEM -- Israel plans to put a prominent Palestinian, Marwan
Barghouti, on trial soon in connection with deadly attacks on Israelis,
a Justice Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The trial would be the first in years of a senior Palestinian in Israel.

Barghouti, one of the most visible Palestinian leaders in the 21-month
uprising against Israel, was arrested in April in the West Bank city of
Ramallah during an Israeli incursion.

He had not been charged.

Justice spokesman Yaakov Galanti said Israel intended to try Barghouti
together with four other Palestinians in civilian court because of their
connection "to several attacks in Israel" -- as opposed to attacks
carried out in the West Bank.

Some of the four could be charged in the coming days, but charges
against Barghouti are only likely in a few weeks, he said.

In placing Barghouti, a key leader of Arafat's Fatah movement in the
West Bank, on trial, Israel is apparently hoping to prove the complicity
at the highest levels of the Palestinian leadership in terror attacks
against its civilians.

But the tactic could also backfire, turning Barghouti into a symbol of
Israeli oppression and further increasing his popularity among
Palestinians.

Barghouti was often present at Palestinian street protests in the early
days of the Palestinian uprising, which began in September 2000, where
he delivered impassioned speeches on confronting the Israeli forces.

Barghouti was gradually drawn into involvement in attacks, first
defending them, then funneling funds to militants, and finally
orchestrating them with the approval of Arafat, said a senior Israeli
security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

His lawyer, Jawad Boulos, has denied the claim.

On Thursday, Boulos said Barghouti did not care what kind of trial
Israel carried out.

"Israel has no right to try him in front of a civil or military court,
and we are not going to cooperate with the court," he said.

"Israel will build charges around whatever it wants. We don't recognize
them and we won't recognize this trial," he said.

The 42-year-old Bargouthi, whose lawyer said he began a hunger strike on
Thursday to protest against jail conditions, has denied the allegations,
maintaining that he is a political leader resisting Israeli occupation.

"We have said we do not recognize his detention and so we will not deal
with any court, civilian or military," Boulos told Reuters.

"I see no significance in turning him over to a civilian court. Israel
is saying the move will allow an open and public trial with better legal
conditions. This could be done in military courts, too," he said.

"It's a weak pretext, and an admission by Israel that its military
(detention) system is not fair."

Barghouthi had begun refusing food after his request for another cell in
a Jerusalem-area prison was refused.

"He is locked in a small cell with five other inmates. It is very hot
and full of insects," Boulos said.

He told Reuters Barghouthi had been repeatedly threatened and deprived
of sleep.

In a recent public opinion survey he emerged as second in popularity
only to Arafat himself.

-------------------------------------------
Macdonald Stainsby
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
--
In the contradiction lies the hope.
                                     --Bertholt Brecht



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