San Jose, CA – On April 19, around 30 people gathered at the Arab American Cultural Center in San Jose for an educational community event to commemorate Palestinian Prisoners Day. The event focused on the case of famed Palestinian political leader and longtime political prisoner Marwan Bargouthi, who has been imprisoned by Israel on false charges for over 20 years due to his role as a leader during the Second Intifada.

Palestinian Prisoners Day, commemorated annually on April 17, was established in 1974 as a day dedicated to the freedom of Palestinian political prisoners and support for their rights. According to the most recent available statistics from this past December, 9619 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli custody, Bargouthi among them.

The evening began with a screening of Tomorrow’s Freedom, a documentary which tells the story of Bargouthi and his family, as he endures harsh prison conditions and organizes his fellow prisoners in a hunger strike. The film also shed light on Bargouthi’s long history as an organizer and leader in Palestine, beginning with his days of student activism at Birzeit University, his work as a politician in the 1990s, and his role as a leader of the Second Intifada in 2000-01.

Bargouthi was arrested by Israel in 2002 and subject to an unfair trial, resulting in a five consecutive life sentences. The film follows his wife and sons as they navigate Israel’s discriminatory prison visitation system, advocate for his freedom internationally, and suffer the pain of his absence in their family. The film culminates with Bargouthi undertaking a hunger strike with his fellow prisoners in protest of their living conditions, as his family worries for his health.

After the film, organizers held a question and answer session with Bargouthi’s niece, Areej Bargouthi, who provided updates and answers about his case via Zoom. “There is not any kind of communication with my uncle [since 2022], through me or the whole family,” she explained. “Not even phone calls, or visiting the jail at all.”

“They don’t have any rights. They don’t have the right to see their families,” Areej Bargouthi stated. “They used to have a break, around 45 minutes, to walk outside. Now they don’t have anything. They give them just a small piece of bread with a few olives for the whole day, and that’s it. Prisoners come out having lost 50 or 60 pounds.”

The evening’s discussion was particularly timely, as Israel’s assault on Gaza has halted the prisoner exchanges that took place during the ceasefire. These prisoner exchanges resulted in the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including Palestinian political leader Khalida Jarrar of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and caused speculation that Marwan Bargouthi may be a candidate for release in future prisoner exchange negotiations.

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