Activists attempted to erect a statue of convicted Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti in London's Parliament Square on Wednesday, according to a group campaigning for his release from an Israeli prison.
The statue of the former leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades during the Second Intifada, who was convicted on five counts of murder for involvement in terrorist attacks, was brought to Parliament Square but was intercepted by police.
Officers remained at the site until the Barghouti statue was removed by the activists.
The Free Marwan Now campaign said one day a statue of Barghouti would stand in the square alongside other bronze statues of figures such as Oliver Cromwell, Benjamin Disraeli, and Nelson Mandela.
"Marwan will take his rightful place alongside other civil rights leaders," the activist campaign said in an Instagram post shared in collaboration with climate activist Greta Thunberg and actors Mark Ruffalo and Liam Cunningham.
Supporters compare Barghouti to Nelson Mandela
The campaign denied that Barghouti, who was imprisoned in 2004, had committed the crimes for which he was accused, and compared him to Mandela.
"Nelson Mandela was once politically isolated and labeled a terrorist before being recognized as a global symbol of freedom and justice," said the campaign. "Marwan Barghouti faces a similar fate."