The letter, whose signatories also included Gary Lineker, Phillip Pullman, Delia Smith and Sir Richard Branson, said: “We express our grave concern at the continuing imprisonment of Marwan Barghouti, his violent mistreatment and denial of legal rights whilst imprisoned. We call upon the United Nations and the governments of the world to actively seek the release of Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison.”

Barghouti was arrested in 2002, and in 2004 was found guilty of five counts of murder, as well as a count of attempted murder. Israel charged that Barghouti was a co-founder and leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the terrorist group aligned with Fatah which carried out dozens of terror attacks against civilians. Publicly, Barghouti had called for attacks on Israeli soldiers and Israelis living in both Gaza and the West Bank, but not Israeli civilians elsewhere. He refused to present any defence against the charges against him, maintaining that the trial and court were illegitimate. Many Palestinians, as well as international parliamentary and legal sympathisers with the Palestinian cause, have claimed the charges against Barghouti were a sham.



\- Boycott each and every one of these celebrities who signed this letter, and any project they are a part of. Terrorism-apologia cannot be excused or normalized.

More than 200 celebrities, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Paul Simon and Sir Ian McKellen, have signed an open letter calling for the release of a Palestinian political leader and convicted terrorist from an Israeli prison.