The Palestinian prisoner Nael al-Barghouti has spent 39 years in Israeli jails to be the longest-serving political detainee in history.
A living Palestinian hero who conquers the Israeli arrogance al-Barghouti has spent the larger part of his life in Israeli jails dreaming of freedom for himself and for his country. He is 61 years old yet he only spent 22 years outside Israeli jails.
Al-Barghouti was born on 24 October 1957 in Kobar village in Ramallah. He was arrested for the first time in April 1978 when he was a high school student.
About 12 days later the Israeli occupation authorities arrested his older brother Omar and his cousin Fakhri and sentenced the three of them to life imprisonment for allegedly killing an Israeli soldier in Ramallah burning an oil factory in the 1948 occupied territories and blowing up a café in Occupied Jerusalem.
Al-Barghouti spent 33 consecutive years in Israeli jails during which both his father and mother died before he was released on 18 October 2011 in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal. He was among 1047 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Before he could enjoy his freedom al-Barghouti was re-arrested on 18 August 2014 to serve the same sentence he received in the past.
During the short period he had outside Israeli jails despite the restrictions imposed on him as he was unable to leave the Ramallah area al-Barghouti got married and joined university to study History.
Al-Barghouti based on Guinness World Records is the longest-serving political prisoner ever. He is known as a wise and intellectual man who is able to invent smart jokes even during the darkest of times.
