French Court Orders Release of Lebanese Activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah After 40 Years Behind Bars
PARIS – July 18, 2025 (VOM-Voice of Malaysia) A French court has officially ordered the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese national who has spent over 40 years in French prisons, making him one of Europe’s longest-held political prisoners.
The ruling came from the Paris Court of Appeals sentencing chamber on Thursday, according to French media outlet BFM TV. The court set July 25 as the date for Abdallah’s release.
Born in Lebanon, Abdallah was an early member of the Lebanese National Movement and later became affiliated with Palestinian resistance groups. He was arrested in Lyon on October 24, 1984, and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for alleged complicity in the assassinations of U.S. military attaché Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yaakov Bar-Simantov in Paris.
Despite completing the minimum term of his sentence decades ago, Abdallah’s repeated requests for parole—ten in total—had been denied, largely due to political pressure from the United States and Israel. His continued detention has drawn condemnation from human rights groups and supporters, who argue that his incarceration was politically motivated.
Abdallah’s release is expected to draw mixed international reactions. Supporters in Lebanon and across the Arab world view him as a symbol of resistance against Western imperialism and Israeli occupation, while critics in Washington and Tel Aviv regard him as a convicted terrorist responsible for deadly attacks.
French authorities have not yet disclosed the terms of his release or whether any conditions—such as deportation or surveillance—will be imposed.
With his release date approaching, Georges Abdallah’s case remains a powerful reminder of the intersections between justice, diplomacy, and ideological struggle that have shaped Middle Eastern politics and international law for decades.
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