Hyderabad, July 5 -- Former Palestinian prisoner Maher Abdul Latif Younis, one of the longest-serving Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, died early on Sunday, July 5, at the age of 68, nearly three and a half years after completing a 40-year prison sentence.

Younis was widely regarded as a leading figure in the Palestinian prisoners' movement. Funeral prayers were scheduled to be held after the noon prayer in his hometown of Ar'ara in the 1948-occupied Palestinian territories.

Spent four decades in prison

Israeli authorities arrested Younis on January 18, 1983, over his involvement in armed resistance activities and his affiliation with the Fatah movement, according to Palestinian sources. He was 25 at the time.

Following his arres...