Long-serving Nael Barghouti, 59, continues to be held despite having served his latest sentence of 30 months, which was issued based on secret information. An appeal was submitted by the prosecution on 25 November 2015, who seek to re-instate a previous life sentence on Mr. Barghouti. The military court is to provide an answer to the prosecution’s appeal by 17 December 2016. Mr. Barghouti faces the possibility of re-instatement of life sentence based on secret information. Today, an appeal has been lodged by Addameer to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Mr. Barghouti was first arrested when he was 20 years old in April 1978. Barghouti was released as part of the Wafa Al-Ahrar exchange deal. In 2014, during a mass arrest campaign, he was re-arrested by military order 1651, which allows for the re-arrest of prisoners and detainees released as part of exchange deals based on “secret information”. Today, he has spent over 35 years in Israeli prisons.
On 21 November 2016, Barghouti was transferred from Negev prison to Rimon prison—a glooming suggestion that his former sentence may be imposed. Mr. Barghouti has been denied the right to family visitation with his wife Iman Nafie, who is a former prisoner, and who he met during his time in prison, has been denied visitation under security pretexts.
On 15 May 2015, a military court rejected the prosecution’s request to return the original sentence due to lack of evidence, but on 10/05/2013 the court sentenced Barghouti to 30 months imprisonment based on secret information. Nael Barghouti was scheduled to be released on 06 November 2016. An appeal was submitted by prosecution in attempt to re-impose a life sentence based on secret information.