Georges Abdallah Freed After 40 Years in French Prison, Returns to Lebanon

TDT | Manama

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Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, one of France’s longest-serving prisoners, was released early Friday morning after spending over four decades behind bars. The 74-year-old Lebanese militant was deported to Lebanon shortly after his release.

Just after 3:30am local time, a convoy of six vehicles with flashing lights was seen leaving Lannemezan Prison in southern France, where Abdallah had been held since 1984. A few hours later, he boarded a plane bound for Beirut, airport sources confirmed.

Abdallah was convicted in 1987 and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murders of U.S. military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris during the 1980s. Despite being eligible for parole since 1999, his release had been repeatedly blocked, partly due to opposition from the United States.

On June 25, the Paris Court of Appeal approved his release on the condition that he immediately leave French territory and never return.

Abdallah’s lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, who met him for the final time on Thursday, said the former militant was in good spirits. “He was happy to be leaving prison but is aware of the difficult circumstances awaiting him in Lebanon and for the Palestinian people,” Chalanset said.

Abdallah was the founder of the Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Factions (FARL), a Marxist and anti-Israel militant group that was active during the 1970s and ’80s. Even while in prison, Abdallah often described himself as continuing “the struggle” for Palestinian rights.

With his release, Abdallah’s long and controversial case draws to a close — one that has stirred debate for decades across France, Lebanon, and beyond.