(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Abdullah Barghouthi, a Jordanian imprisoned in Israel, is planning to start a hunger strike today in protest against the "inhumane" treatment at the jail, where he is in solitary confinement.
The 39-year-old, who was arrested and jailed in 2004, is serving 67 life sentences, Fadi Farah, spokesperson of the National Committee for Prisoners in Israel, told The Jordan Times Wednesday.
Barghouthi will join several prisoners of other nationalities in Israeli jails who announced that they will also start a hunger strike on Thursday, Farah said. "Abdullah's lawyer informed us about the strike and said the prisoner wants his relatives to be allowed to visit him," he added.
Um Abdullah called on the government to intervene so she can visit her son, who left for the West Bank in 2000.
"I wish my son could come back to Amman and live with his wife and three children. I want him back," the 61-year-old told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday.
"I applied several times at the foreign ministry, asking them to pressure the Israelis to allow me to visit my son, but to no avail. I want to visit my son as soon as possible as I have not seen him since 2000," she said.
Abdullah's wife has visited him only twice over the past eight years, according to his brother, Mohammad. "Currently, all our family members including his wife and children are not allowed to see him. We receive Abdullah's news through his lawyer and through the Red Cross," Mohammad told the Jordan Times yesterday.
Farah called on the government to place pressure on the Israelis to allow Barghouthi's family members to visit him, noting that banning them from visiting Abdullah is in violation of human rights.
He said the committee sent several requests to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address Barghouthi's case and the cases of other Jordanians jailed in Israel, but received no response.
According to the committee, there are about 27 Jordanians jailed in Israel.
Foreign ministry officials were unavailable for comment despite several attempts by The Jordan Times to contact them.
