On Thursday (07/17), pro-Palestine Lebanese activist Georges Abdallah was ordered to be released by French courts after serving 41 years in prison, France’s longest-serving political prisoner. His release and deportation to Lebanon is scheduled for Friday (07/25).
In 1987, Abdallah was sentenced to life in prison due to his alleged involvement in the 1982 assassination of a US military officer and an Israeli diplomat.
Since 1999, he has been eligible for release due to completing the minimum portion of his life sentence, but was denied repeatedly for political reasons.
The US has been a consistent opponent of his release and has great influence over the French justice system. In 2006, French Public Prosecutors denied his release, citing that it would be a bad look for France in the eyes of America. Following his 2024 release order, which was blocked by the French anti-terrorism prosecutor, the Department of Justice vigorously placed itself against his release, claiming that he would be a “destabilizing influence” in Lebanon. Following his present release order, the Department of Justice claimed that his release would pose a safety risk to US diplomats despite no evidence of Abdallah presently having ties to armed organizations.
Abdallah, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and a founder of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions, has been a staunch supporter of Palestinian resistance for his entire prison sentence. In 2024, following a 4,500-strong demonstration in France, he issued a statement in which he said: “The fact remains, however, that despite the genocidal, large-scale aggression against Gaza these days, in which tens and tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded have been added to the terrible widespread destruction of Gaza’s entire living space, the resistance remains unshakable, protected and endorsed by the Palestinian popular masses.”
The international supporters of Abdallah’s freedom have rallied around the United Campaign for the Freedom of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, which has mobilized thousands in support of his release for years on end.
Abdallah’s release would be an important victory for all true progressives and revolutionaries, the product of decades of struggle for his release against the French courts and the US imperialist interests it has served.
Image: A banner reading “Free Georges Abdallah, victory or victory!” at a demonstration in Lannemezan, France. Source: The Red Herald.
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