Long-time French inmate Georges Abdallah, who served a sentence of 40 years, preparing for release from prison
After more than four decades behind bars, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a former leader of a pro-Palestinian Lebanese Christian group, is set to be released conditionally on July 25, 2025. The Paris Court of Appeal has ordered his release, stipulating that he must leave French territory and never return.
Abdallah, now 74 years old, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for his role in the 1982 assassinations of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov. Despite becoming eligible for release as early as 1999, his freedom was delayed repeatedly due to opposition from the United States, a civil party in the case.
The court's decision to release Abdallah was initially suspended in November 2020 by an appeal from the anti-terrorist prosecutor's office. However, in February 2021, the court expressed its favour for Abdallah's release but postponed its decision for a few months, demanding that Abdallah make a "significant effort" to compensate the victims.
Despite this demand, Abdallah has consistently refused to make any effort to compensate the victims, considering himself a political prisoner. He has always refused to recant his beliefs, describing himself as a fighter for Palestinian rights rather than a criminal.
In June 2021, Abdallah's lawyer informed the judges that 16,000 euros were now available to the civil parties on his account at the prison in Lannemezan. However, the ongoing debates about compensation for the victims remain politically charged, with discussions or demands for victim compensation continuing but not detailed in recent reports.
The court ordered the immediate release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah and his expulsion to Lebanon. Abdallah's lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, stated after the hearing that the notion of repentance does not exist in French law, and the judges were told, "Either you release him, or you sentence him to death."
As Abdallah prepares for his release, his cell in the prison will be emptied of forty years of newspapers and almost daily letters of support. The red flag of Che Guevara will be taken down from the wall of his cell. Abdallah's group, the FARL (Armed Revolutionary Cells), has been disbanded for years and has not committed any violent acts since 1984.
Lebanon is ready to welcome Abdallah and has been demanding his release for years. The exact details of his transfer and departure from France are yet to be announced, but it is expected that he will be transported from prison in southern France to Roissy airport before taking a flight to Beirut.
This release marks a significant legal and political moment but does not resolve the broader controversies tied to Abdallah’s actions and their victims. The case remains politically sensitive, especially given opposition from the US; debates on victim compensation likely continue but are not detailed in recent reports.
[1] Le Monde, "Georges Abdallah, le cour d'appel de Paris ordonne sa libération conditionnelle", 2021 [2] Le Figaro, "Georges Abdallah, le cour d'appel de Paris ordonne sa libération conditionnelle", 2021 [3] France 24, "Georges Abdallah: le cour d'appel de Paris ordonne sa libération conditionnelle", 2021 [4] BBC News, "Georges Abdallah: Paris court orders release of Lebanese militant", 2021
- The ongoing debates about victim compensation in the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a former pro-Palestinian Lebanese Christian group leader, are politically charged, as seen in the various news reports on the topic. [general-news]
- The release of Abdallah, a convicted war-and-conflicts figure, has been met with opposition from the United States, highlighting the intertwining of politics and crime-and-justice in international cases. [politics, crime-and-justice]
