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Shafaq News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Georges Abdallah to walk free after 41 years in French prison
Shafaq News – Paris A French appeals court has approved the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese leftist activist imprisoned for 41 years over the killings of two diplomats in the early 1980s. His conditional release, set for July 25, 2025, comes after decades of legal delays, international pressure, and repeated parole blockages. Abdallah, now 74, is one of Europe's longest-held prisoners. He was arrested in Lyon on October 24, 1984, and later sentenced to life in prison for complicity in the assassinations of US military attaché Charles R. Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Bar-Simantov, both gunned down in Paris in 1982. French authorities also linked Abdallah to an attempted assassination targeting a US consul in Strasbourg in 1984. A former teacher and member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Abdallah co-founded the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), a Marxist-Leninist group that coordinated attacks in France during the early 1980s. The group claimed responsibility for the killings, citing retaliation for US and Israeli operations in Lebanon. Although Abdallah became eligible for parole in 1999, his release has been consistently blocked by French authorities, often following US diplomatic intervention. In both 2003 and late 2024, French courts approved his conditional release based on deportation to Lebanon. Each time, prosecutors appealed the decisions, invoking new anti-reoffending laws and citing his lack of remorse. On Thursday, however, a Paris appeals court ruled that Abdallah may be freed and expelled from France, provided he never returns. His attorney, Jean-Louis Chalanset, confirmed that Abdallah plans to return to Lebanon. The court based its decision on his "irreproachable" prison record and judged that he no longer posed a threat of engaging in terrorist activity. The decision remains subject to further appeal, but legal experts say there is little time for France's Court of Cassation to intervene before his scheduled release. Abdallah's case has long divided opinion. Supporters in Lebanon and parts of the international left regard him as a political prisoner and a symbol of resistance. The United States and Israel, however, continue to regard him as a terrorist who orchestrated politically motivated murders.
Middle East Eye
3 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Lebanese pro-Palestine activist to be freed after 40 years in French jail
A French appeals court has ordered the release of Lebanese pro-Palestine activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah after four decades in prison. The former guerrilla with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for his alleged involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov five years earlier. On Thursday, the Paris Appeals Court ordered the 74-year-old to be freed from prison next week, on 25 July, on the condition that he leaves French territory and never returns. Abdallah is one of the longest-serving prisoners in France, where most convicts serving life sentences are freed after fewer than 30 years. He had appealed against his conviction 11 times since becoming eligible for release in 1999. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The United States - a civil party to the case - has consistently opposed his release, whereas Lebanese authorities have worked for his liberation and told the court they would organise his return home. Abdallah, born to a Christian family in the village of Kobayat, northern Lebanon, has long maintained that he was not a "criminal" but "a fighter" who battled for the rights of Palestinians. PFLP soul-searching: the rise and fall of Palestine's socialists Read More » "The path I followed was dictated by the human rights violations perpetrated against Palestine," he told the judges during his last appeal for release. Wounded in 1978 during Israel's invasion of Lebanon, Abdallah, a secondary school teacher, joined the Marxist-Leninist PFLP, which carried out a series of plane hijackings during the 1960s and 1970s. A year later, along with his brothers and cousins, he founded his own pro-Palestine armed group, the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF). The group had contact with other far-left armed outfits, including France's Action Directe, Italy's Red Brigades and the German Red Army Faction (RAF). The Lebanese anti-Israeli Marxist group claimed responsibility for five attacks, including four in France in 1981 and 1982. 'Freed from Israeli and US pressures' Abdallah's brother, Robert, told AFP in Lebanon that relatives were "delighted' with his release. 'I didn't expect the French judiciary to make such a decision, nor for him to ever be freed, especially after so many failed requests for release," Robert said. "For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and US pressures," he added. Prosecutors can file an appeal with France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, but it is not expected to be processed fast enough to halt his release next week. Abdallah's lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, also welcomed the decision as "both a judicial victory, and a political scandal that he was not released earlier". French court orders release of Lebanese political activist jailed for 40 years Read More » In November last year, a French court had ordered Abdallah's release, conditional on his leaving France. But France's anti-terror prosecutors, arguing that Abdallah had not changed his political views, appealed against the decision, which was consequently suspended. The activist has never expressed regret for his actions. During this 11th request, the sentencing court, then the appeals court, ruled in favour of Abdallah's release, considering the length of his detention "disproportionate" to the crimes committed, and deeming that at 74, this "elderly" detainee aspiring to end his days in his village in northern Lebanon no longer presented a risk of disturbing public order. A verdict was due to have been delivered in February, but the Paris appeals court postponed its decision until 19 June so that Abdallah "could justify compensation to the civil parties", including the US. He had always refused to do so, arguing his innocence and considering himself a political prisoner. However, at the June hearing, Abdallah's lawyer told the judges that €16,000 had been placed on the prisoner's bank account and were at the disposal of civil parties in the case. Over the years, Abdallah's fate has mobilised leftist activists, who have accused successive French governments of preventing his release. Several communist municipalities have made him an honorary citizen, and protests have frequently been held outside his prison in Lannemezan, in southwestern France. "Georges Ibrahim Abdallah is the victim of a state justice that shames France," Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux said in the communist daily L'Humanite in October.
Saba Yemen
4 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
PFLP Strongly Condemns Zionist Airstrikes on Syria
Beirut - Saba: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) on Wednesday strongly condemned the Zionist airstrikes on Syria, which resulted in a number of martyrs and wounded. In a statement received by the Yemeni News Agency (SABA), the PFLP said that this aggression represents a new episode in the ongoing series of Zionist crimes against the peoples of the region. 'This attack comes as part of an open Zionist escalation on multiple fronts, foremost among them the continued brutal massacres against our people in the Gaza Strip, settler crimes in the West Bank, and ongoing assaults on Lebanese territory—violating sovereignty and aiming to break national will,' the statement read. The PFLP warned that these actions are part of broader Zionist-American plans to sow division, incite sectarianism, and spread terror across the region. The Front expressed full solidarity with Syria, affirming its support for the unity of the Syrian land and people, and reaffirmed Syria's absolute right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Saba Yemen
4 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine condemns Zionist massacre in Wadi Fara
Al-Quds– Saba: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) condemned in the strongest terms the massacre committed by the Zionist enemy in Wadi Fara, eastern Lebanon, which resulted in the deaths of a number of Lebanese and Syrian martyrs. In a statement received by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), the Front said: "This criminal Zionist aggression constitutes a new episode in the ongoing Zionist genocide against the peoples of the region, foremost among them Palestine and Lebanon." Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Memri
6 days ago
- Politics
- Memri
Terrorist-Designated Samidoun, Linked To Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine (PFLP), Publishes Online 'Zine' Offering Guidance For Those Facing Terrorist Designation, Recommends Using VPN, E
On July 4, 2025, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, linked to the militant Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) group and designated a terrorist organization in the U.S. and Canada, announced on its X account that it was launching a new zine, titled "What to Do When You, Too, Become a 'Terrorist.'" It noted that the 15-page zine was "inspired by our own experiences in the US, Canada & Germany and by the ongoing attempts of the British state to proscribe [Palestine Action] as a 'terrorist' organization," as well as "the years of state repression targeting a wide array of liberation struggles and movements" and "the designation of Palestinian, Lebanese, Yemeni, Iranian, Filipino and other resistance organizations as 'terrorists' by the imperialist powers." The document contains "analysis, advice from organizers, suggestions for security tips to support your organizing and resources for further reading," and can be downloaded, printed, and widely distributed. The zine recommends the use of VPNs such as Mullvad and Surfshark, and the Tor or Brave browsers for enhanced security, noting that using Tor after connecting to a VPN provides the greatest anonymity. Noting that "in-person, device-free conversations are always best for communicating sensitive information," it advises communicating via messaging apps featuring end-to-end encryption such as Signal, Molly, and Element when this is not feasible, warning that Telegram, Meta, and "other Big Tech corporations … have a history of police cooperation." The full text of this report is available to MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor subscribers. Subscription information is available at this link. JTTM subscribers can visit this page to view the report
