Latest news with #JeanLouisChalanset
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
French court orders release of Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah
PARIS — A French court on Thursday ordered the conditional release of a Lebanese pro-Palestinian communist militant after more than 40 years in detention in France. Georges Ibrahim Abdallah was serving a life sentence for complicity in the murders of two diplomats, one American and one Israeli, in Paris in 1982. The Paris Court of Appeal ruled Abdallah, who has been imprisoned in France since his arrest in 1984, can be released next Friday on the condition that he leave France and never return, judicial authorities said. His lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, told reporters that Abdallah wants to return to Lebanon upon his release and remains 'a communist militant who supports the Palestinian struggle and fights against the invasion of his country by Israel.' He described Abdallah as the longest-held political prisoner in Europe. 'He has never renounced his convictions,' Chalanset said, adding that U.S. authorities had lobbied the Paris court to reject the 74-year-old's release request. 'So it's also a political victory, even after nearly 41 years in detention, against the United States.' The Associated Press
Al Jazeera
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
French court orders pro-Palestinian Lebanese fighter freed after 40 years
A French court has ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese fighter Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has been imprisoned for 40 years for his role in the killings of two foreign diplomats in France in the early 1980s. The Paris Appeals Court ordered on Thursday that Abdallah, 74, be freed from a prison in southern France on July 25 on the condition that he leave French territory and never return. The former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigade was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for his role in the 1982 murders of United States military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris and the attempted murder of US Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984. First detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987, Abdallah is one of the longest serving prisoners in France as most prisoners serving life sentences are freed after less than 30 years. The detainee's brother, Robert Abdallah, told the AFP news agency in Lebanon on Thursday that he was overjoyed by the news. 'We're delighted. 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,' he was quoted as saying. 'For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and US pressures.' Abdallah's lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset also welcomed the decision: 'It's both a judicial victory and a political scandal that he was not released earlier.' Abdallah is expected to be deported to Lebanon. Prosecutors may file an appeal with France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, but it is not expected to be processed quickly enough to halt his release next week. Abdallah has been up for release for 25 years, but the US – a civil party to the case – has consistently opposed his leaving prison. Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said Abdallah should be freed from jail and had written to the appeals court to say they would organise his return home to Beirut. In November, a French court ordered his release on the condition Abdallah leaves France. But French prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision, which was consequently suspended. A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but the Paris Appeals Court postponed it, saying it was unclear whether Abdallah had proof that he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs – something he has consistently refused to do. The court re-examined the latest request for his release last month. During the closed-door hearing, Chalanset told the judges that 16,000 euros ($18,535) had been placed in the prisoner's bank account and were at the disposal of civil parties in the case, including the US. Abdallah, who has never expressed regret for his actions, has always insisted he is a 'fighter' who battled for the rights of Palestinians and not a 'criminal'. The Paris court has described his behaviour in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed 'no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts'. Abdallah still enjoys some support from several public figures in France, including left-wing members of parliament and Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux, but has mostly been forgotten by the general public.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
French court to rule on freeing Lebanese militant
A French court is set to deliver a long-awaited ruling in July on the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has been imprisoned for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats. The Paris appeals court, initially set to deliver its verdict in February before postponing, will now announce its decision on July 17 after re-examining the request on Thursday. "I told the judges, either you release him or you sentence him to death," his lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset told the media after the closed-door hearing. Abdallah, 74, was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov. He has been eligible for release for 25 years, but has seen multiple requests for his freedom denied. The United States, a civil party to the case, has consistently opposed his release but Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said he should be freed from jail. In November 2024, a French court ordered his release conditional on Abdallah leaving France. But France's anti-terror prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision which was consequently suspended. Abdallah has always insisted he is a "fighter" who battled for the rights of Palestinians and not a "criminal". The appeals court said in February the decision to postpone was prompted by the unresolved question of whether Abdallah had proof that he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs, something he has consistently refused to do. His lawyer said on Thursday he presented documents showing some 16,000 euros ($18,360) in Abdallah's prison account "at the disposal of civil parties". First detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987 over the murders, the 74-year-old is one of the longest serving prisoners in France -- most convicts serving life sentences are freed after less than 30 years. mdh/ekf/sjw/giv
