LOS ANGELES (VINnews) – More than 20 actors associated with Marvel film and television productions have signed a petition calling for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a senior Fatah official serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli prison for his role in terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada, according to a statement from the Free Marwan campaign.

In a statement shared by the campaign, the signatories said they expressed “grave concern at the continuing imprisonment of Marwan Barghouti, his violent mistreatment, and denial of legal rights whilst imprisoned” and called on the United Nations and world governments “to actively seek the release of Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison.”

Barghouti was a senior Fatah figure and a secretary-general when the Second Intifada began in 2000 after Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat rejected a U.S.-backed peace proposal that would have created a Palestinian state. He was a leading figure in the Tanzim and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, groups that carried out suicide bombings and shooting attacks that killed more than 1,000 Israelis between 2000 and 2005.

Israeli authorities captured Barghouti in 2002. In 2004, a Tel Aviv District Court convicted him of five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder tied to three attacks: a June 2001 roadside shooting near Ma’ale Adumim that killed Greek Orthodox monk Georgios Tsibouktzakis; a January 2002 shooting at a gas station near Givat Ze’ev that killed Israeli civilian Yoela Chen; and a March 2002 shooting at the Seafood Market restaurant in Tel Aviv that killed Yosef Habi, Eli Dahan and Druze police officer First Sgt. Maj. Salim Barakat, while wounding more than two dozen others. The court also found him guilty of membership in a terrorist organization. He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms plus 40 years. He was acquitted of additional charges for lack of sufficient evidence linking him directly to those specific attacks.

Israeli officials have consistently opposed Barghouti’s release in past prisoner-exchange talks, citing his seniority and the crimes for which he was convicted.