US Rep. Chuy Garcia, progressive of Illinois, calls for release of Marwan Barghouti

2 October 2026, 9:11 am

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Left: US Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García marches in the Mexican Independence Day Parade, September 14, 2025, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. Right: Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti (C) is accompanied by Israeli prison guards after a hearing at Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, January 25, 2012. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad, AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

US Rep. Chuy Garcia, a progressive Democrat from Illinois, calls for the release of Palestinian terror convict Marwan Barghouti, asserting he did not receive a fair trial and accusing Israel of torturing him.

“I support the release of Marwan Barghouti. He did not receive a fair trial and has been tortured in Israeli prison for over 20 years. He is a popular and unifying voice for the Palestinian people, and as we push to end Israel’s atrocities, his release would help advance freedom and self-determination for Palestine. Marwan — and everyone unjustly detained by Israel — must be released,” Garcia writes on X.

Barghouti, a prominent Fatah figure during the Second Intifada, was convicted by an Israeli court in 2002 and sentenced to five cumulative life terms plus 40 years in prison for helping plan terror attacks during the Second Intifada that killed five civilians. Barghouti has denied the charges and also denied the jurisdiction of the Israeli court to try him as a member of the PA’s parliament.

He is seen by many Palestinians and some members of the international community as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

A week ago, Rep. Ro Khanna became the first US lawmaker to call for Barghouti’s release. The Democrat from California did not assert Barghouti was tried unfairly — though he floated the idea, citing “a number of human rights groups” — but rather argued that peace processes often involve figures with violent pasts, including some who have done “terrible things.”