France grants release to Georges Abdallah after 40 years in prison!!! - Al Mayadeen
"A French court ordered on Friday the release of Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese revolutionary imprisoned in France, who has been detained for 40 years.
The court ruled that Abdallah, who was first arrested in 1984 and convicted in 1987, would be freed on December 6, provided that he leave France.
It is worth noting that French "anti-terrorism" prosecutors announced they would appeal the decision.
"In (a) decision dated today, the court granted Georges Ibrahim Abdallah conditional release from December 6, subject to the condition that he leaves French territory and not appear there again," the prosecutors stated.
The longest-held prisoner in Europe
Abdallah, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has so far served 40 years in prison, which makes him the longest-held prisoner in Europe.
He founded the Marxist-Leninist Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), which claimed responsibility for four attacks in France during the 1980s.
The Lebanese revolutionary was accused of taking part in the assassination of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in 1982 and was sentenced on these accusations.
Abdallah never responded to the list of accusations and considered that the French judicial system was "despicably" taking the resistance action out of context.
At his trial for the alleged killing of the diplomats, Abdallah was handed a life sentence—significantly harsher than the 10 years sought by prosecutors. His lawyer, Jacques Verges, called the sentence a "declaration of war."
Now 73, Abdallah maintains that he is a "fighter" advocating for Palestinian rights, not a "criminal". This marks his 11th attempt at securing parole."
