May 3, 2002

Dear NPR News,

I listened to Anne Garrels news spot at 6PM Eastern Time about Israel's claims that captured Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi had directly implicated Yasir Arafat in funding attacks on Israeli civilians and said that Arafat personally signed every request for weapons to attack Israeli civilians.

It is simply unacceptable that NPR should report Israel's claims without emphasizing that the claims about what Barghouthi has said are totally unverifiable and are absolutely convenient for Israel's political agenda.

NPR should have sought a response to the claims from Barghouthi's lawyers. The Associated Press report from which it appears Garrels obtained her information stated that:

"the Israelis did not provide transcripts of Barghouti's statements or provide any other evidence to support the report, which was released in a three-page statement from the prime minister's office." (Israel: Man Links Arafat to Attacks, AP, May 3, 2002)

On May 1, Haaretz quoted Barghouthi's lawyer Jawad Bulos stating:

"At Marwan's order, the battery of lawyers who will defend him together will appear from the first session. And we will all make one and the same argument - that Marwan is not interested in conducting the trial the way you want. He will not play that game. Then we will all get up and resign. He will not defend himself. He will not make any arguments, he will not say a word. He will sit there and be silent. Even if the whole trial is managed without him, he will sit and be silent. That is his instruction to me as his lawyer."

Given Barghouthi's militant stance and his apparent decision not to cooperate with the Israelis, it seems slightly less than fully credible that he would provide Sharon with just the evidence he wants, and so quickly and conveniently!

When Barghouthi was arrested, Sharon declared, "Like in every democratic country, he will be tried in Israel and put in prison." (BBC, April 16, 2002) In proper democracies there is the minor matter of actually determining guilt before someone is put in prison. The statement suggests that Sharon is willing to fabricate evidence if necessary to get the outcome he wants.

Had Israel provided any evidence at all that Barghouthi made these statements (which they obviously have not), it would also have to be noted that according to leading human rights organizations, Israel routinely obtains statements andconfessions from prisoners after torturing them and subjecting them to severe conditions.

Hence it is incumbent on NPR to report claims issued by the office of Ariel Sharon with the utmost caution and responsibility and with all the necessary information required to put them in context.