Latest news with #LebaneseArmedRevolutionaryFactions
Ya Libnan
3 days ago
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
After more than 40 years in jail in France, Lebanese militant Georges Abdallah returns home
Lebanese pro-Palestinian militant Georges Abdallah speaks to supporters upon his arrival at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, July 25, 2025. He is a hero for some but not for others © Hussein Malla, AP After more than four decades behind bars in France, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah – the Lebanese leftist militant imprisoned since 1984 – landed in Beirut after leaving his prison early Friday. His release, authorised by a Paris appeals court July 17 on the condition that he leave France immediately, brings to a close one of the longest political detentions in modern European history. Pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah arrived in Beirut Friday following his release after more than 40 years in detention in France. Upon his arrival, he was transferred into Lebanese custody. For his supporters, Abdallah's release brings long-overdue justice. For others, his name is simply reminiscent of a distant and complex chapter in history. But his return has symbolic weight in his country of origin. 'This moment isn't about sentimentality – it's about the long wait, 40 years of it. It's about resilience in the face of delays, appeals, discrimination. This is not a time for nostalgia, but rather a culmination of time and justice,' said his brother, Robert Abdallah. Abdallah was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for the assassinations of US military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov. While he has always denied direct involvement, Abdallah never distanced himself from the resistance movement he co-founded, the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions, a Marxist group aligned with Palestinian and pan-Arab causes that also sought to evict foreign forces – notably Israel – from Lebanese soil. Despite multiple court rulings over the years recommending his release, Abdallah remained in prison due to political pressure – particularly from the United States and Israel. He ultimately served four decades in France's Lannemezan prison, steadfastly refusing to express remorse. Although he completed the minimum sentence in 1999 he remained behind bars, multiple requests for parole having been denied . Preparations to welcome him have been under way ever since, according to Catherine Daher, a journalist and activist for Lebanon's National Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah. 'We can say that preparations to welcome comrade Georges have been ongoing since 1999, when his sentence officially ended,' Daher said. 'Since then, we've faced repeated release orders – in 2003, 2013 and 2024 – that were blocked for political reasons,' she said, making him 'the longest-held political prisoner in Europe'. Now, at 74, Abdallah returns to his hometown of Qoubaiyat in northern Lebanon – not just as a free man resuming civilian life, but as a deeply symbolic figure. Daher said plans are under way for a series of public events upon his return to Lebanon. 'His welcome will include state officials, political leaders, his family, and the national campaign that fought for his release – as well as student groups, media figures, trade unionists, human rights advocates, cultural voices, and activists from France and beyond who played a key role in keeping up the pressure,' she said. One of the first political forces to welcome his release was the Lebanese Communist Party, which hailed Abdallah as a principled 'resistance fighter' who refused to compromise even after four decades behind bars. Hezbollah described Abdallah as a 'hero of resistance' and 'a symbol for every prisoner, fighter and honourable person who raised the banner of dignity in the face of tyrants'. Hezbollah was a newly emergent group at the time of his arrest in 1984. But other major parties have stayed quiet. The Lebanese Forces and Kataeb, two prominent Christian factions with roots in Lebanon's civil war era, have not issued any public comment. 'It's understandable that many Lebanese political factions – especially Christian parties like the Kataeb and Lebanese Forces – have not issued any public statement welcoming Georges Abdallah's return,' said political and social psychologist Ramzi Abou Ismail. 'Although he is a Christian by background, Abdallah never embodied the in-group identity typically promoted by these parties.' 'His alignment with Palestinian armed factions during the civil war, and his rejection of sectarian politics, positioned him as a challenge to the identity they claimed – that of protectors of the Christian community,' he added. Charbel Jabbour, head of communications for the Lebanese Forces, said Abdallah's release symbolically helps close the chapter on Lebanon's civil conflict. 'The war era is over – completely over. Abdallah served his sentence and is being released,' he told FRANCE 24. 'The civil war chapter must be permanently closed. Anything else is unacceptable.' Outside of ideological and political circles, Abdallah's return has generated limited buzz among Lebanon's younger population. For many, his name is unfamiliar – a symbol of a different era, eclipsed by today's crises: economic collapse, political gridlock and mass emigration. Still, his face now adorns posters and social media feeds once again, and he is often depicted not as a militant but as a man who stood by his convictions – regardless of the consequences. 'He's a hero for some, yes. But to others he is not, and to many he is from a time they never lived through,' said one historian, who requested anonymity.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Georges Abdallah: Pro-Palestinian convict to be freed after 40 years
Georges Abdallah, a 74-year-old Lebanese teacher who became a left-wing symbol for the Palestinian cause, is to be freed by France on Friday after 41 years in by his lawyer as "the man who has spent the longest time in prison for events linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Abdallah is expected to be put on a flight directly to in 1987 for complicity in the murders in France of two diplomats – one American, one Israeli – Abdallah has gradually been forgotten by the wider public. But his release remained a cause célèbre for activists on the Marxist-Leninist left, with which he still identifies. His stern-looking bearded face continued to peer from banners in left-wing demonstrations; and once a year protesters gathered to demand his freedom outside his prison in the Pyrenees. Three left-led French municipalities declared him an "honorary citizen".Though eligible for parole since 1999, he saw successive requests for liberty turned down. According to supporters, this was because of pressure on the French government from the US and recently by the French news agency AFP at his cell in Lannemazan jail, he said he had kept sane by focusing on the Palestinian "struggle"."If I had not had that… well, 40 years – it can turn your brain to mush," he the walls of his cell, Abdallah kept a picture of the 1960s revolutionary Che Guevara and postcards from supporters around the world. A desk was covered with piles of newspapers. Born in 1951 into a Christian family in northern Lebanon, in the late 1970s Abdallah helped set up the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) – a small Marxist group dedicated to fighting Israel and its closest ally, the United the time Lebanon was embroiled in a civil war. In 1978 and again in 1982 Israel invaded south Lebanon to combat Palestinian fighters based group decided to hit Israeli and US targets in Europe, and carried out five attacks in France. In 1982 its members shot and killed US diplomat Charles Ray in Strasbourg, and Israeli diplomat Yakov Barsimantov in Paris. In addition a car bomb blamed on LARF killed two French bomb-disposal was arrested in Lyon in 1984. Tailed by French intelligence officers, he thought he was being followed by Israeli assassins and gave himself in at a police station. Initially he was charged only with having false passports and criminal association.A short time later a French citizen was kidnapped in northern Lebanon, and the French secret service entered a negotiation via Algeria to engineer an French citizen was freed, but just before Abdallah was to be released police in Paris found a cache of weapons at his flat, including the gun used to kill the diplomats. This made his liberation years later in the run up to his trial, Paris was hit by a spate of terrorist attacks which killed 13 people. These were blamed by politicians and the media on allies of Abdallah trying to pressurise France into freeing him. Later it was established that in fact they were the work of the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, under instructions from the trial, Abdallah denied involvement in the murders but defended their legitimacy. He was given a life sentence. Of the more than 10 requests for release since 1999, only one came close to success. But in 2013 then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote to the French government expressing the hope that it could find a "way to contest the legality" of a court decision to free message was later made public by Minister Manuel Valls then refused to sign the expulsion order on which Abdallah's liberation was year the appeal court decided that the length of Abdallah's detention was "disproportionate", and that he no longer posed a threat. It said again that his release must immediately be followed by expulsion from France."This is a victory for justice, but it is also a political scandal that he was not released before, thanks to the behaviour of the United States and successive French presidents," said his lawyer Jean-Louis the people who campaigned for his release was the 2022 Nobel literature prize winner Annie Ernaux, who said he was a "victim of state justice of which France should be ashamed".Yves Bonnet, the intelligence chief who tried to negotiate Abdallah's exchange in 1985 and is now a member of the far-right National Rally, said he was "treated worse than a serial killer" and that "the United States was obsessed with keeping him in jail".According to a report in Le Monde newspaper, no Palestinian prisoner – even those condemned to life imprisonment in Israel – has served more than 40 years in jail. Abdallah served 41.
France 24
5 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
After 40 years behind bars in France, Georges Abdallah will return home to Lebanon
Abdallah will be released from his prison cell in southern France on July 25 and transported by military aircraft to Paris. He will then board a flight to Beirut, where he will he transferred into Lebanese custody. For his supporters, Abdallah's release brings long-overdue justice. For others, his name is simply reminiscent of a distant and complex chapter in history. But his return has symbolic weight in his country of origin. 'This moment isn't about sentimentality – it's about the long wait, 40 years of it. It's about resilience in the face of delays, appeals, discrimination. This is not a time for nostalgia, but rather a culmination of time and justice,' said his brother, Robert Abdallah. Abdallah was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for the assassinations of US military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov. While he has always denied direct involvement, Abdallah never distanced himself from the resistance movement he co-founded, the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions, a Marxist group aligned with Palestinian and pan-Arab causes that also sought to evict foreign forces – notably Israel – from Lebanese soil. Despite multiple court rulings over the years recommending his release, Abdallah remained in prison due to political pressure – particularly from the United States and Israel. He ultimately served four decades in France's Lannemezan prison, steadfastly refusing to express remorse. A free man Although he completed the minimum sentence in 1999 he remained behind bars, multiple requests for parole having been denied. Preparations to welcome him have been under way ever since, according to Catherine Daher, a journalist and activist for Lebanon's National Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah. 'We can say that preparations to welcome comrade Georges have been ongoing since 1999, when his sentence officially ended,' Daher said. 'Since then, we've faced repeated release orders – in 2003, 2013 and 2024 – that were blocked for political reasons,' she said, making him 'the longest-held political prisoner in Europe'. Now, at 74, Abdallah is preparing to return to his hometown of Qoubaiyat in northern Lebanon – not just as a free man resuming civilian life, but as a deeply symbolic figure. Daher said plans are under way for a series of public events upon his return to Lebanon. 'His welcome will include state officials, political leaders, his family, and the national campaign that fought for his release – as well as student groups, media figures, trade unionists, human rights advocates, cultural voices, and activists from France and beyond who played a key role in keeping up the pressure,' she said. One of the first political forces to welcome his release was the Lebanese Communist Party, which hailed Abdallah as a principled 'resistance fighter' who refused to compromise even after four decades behind bars. Hezbollah described Abdallah as a 'hero of resistance' and 'a symbol for every prisoner, fighter and honourable person who raised the banner of dignity in the face of tyrants'. Hezbollah was a newly emergent group at the time of his arrest in 1984. But other major parties have stayed quiet. The Lebanese Forces and Kataeb, two prominent Christian factions with roots in Lebanon's civil war era, have not issued any public comment. 'It's understandable that many Lebanese political factions – especially Christian parties like the Kataeb and Lebanese Forces – have not issued any public statement welcoming Georges Abdallah's return,' said political and social psychologist Ramzi Abou Ismail. 'Although he is a Christian by background, Abdallah never embodied the in-group identity typically promoted by these parties.' 'His alignment with Palestinian armed factions during the civil war, and his rejection of sectarian politics, positioned him as a challenge to the identity they claimed – that of protectors of the Christian community,' he added. Charbel Jabbour, head of communications for the Lebanese Forces, said Abdallah's release symbolically helps close the chapter on Lebanon's civil conflict. 'The war era is over – completely over. Abdallah served his sentence and is being released,' he told FRANCE 24. 'The civil war chapter must be permanently closed. Anything else is unacceptable.' Outside of ideological and political circles, Abdallah's return has generated limited buzz among Lebanon's younger population. For many, his name is unfamiliar – a symbol of a different era, eclipsed by today's crises: economic collapse, political gridlock and mass emigration. Still, his face now adorns posters and social media feeds once again, and he is often depicted not as a militant but as a man who stood by his convictions – regardless of the consequences. 'He's a hero for some, yes. But to others he is not, and to many he is from a time they never lived through,' said one historian, who requested anonymity.
LBCI
17-07-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
French court orders release of Lebanese national Georges Ibrahim Abdallah
BFM TV reported that a French court on Thursday ordered the release of Lebanese national Georges Ibrahim Abdallah after nearly 40 years in prison for attacks on diplomats, one American and one Israeli, in France. Abdallah, the former leader of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his role in the assassinations of U.S. military attaché Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris in 1982, as well as the attempted assassination of U.S. Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984. Officials from the Court of Appeal have not yet issued any comment. Reuters
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
French court backs release of Lebanese militant jailed for US, Israeli diplomat murders
By John Irish and Dominique Vidalon PARIS (Reuters) -A French court on Thursday ruled in favour of releasing Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah from prison, after he served almost 40 years of a life sentence for attacks on U.S. and Israeli diplomats in France. The Paris Appeals court agreed to Abdallah's release on July 25 on the condition he leaves France, a judicial source said. A second source familiar with the case said he would be deported to Lebanon. Abdallah is the former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions. He was jailed in 1987 for his role in the 1982 murders in Paris of U.S. military attache Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov and for the attempted murder of U.S. Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984. The U.S. Department of Justice and France's general prosecutor have for years vigorously opposed his release, and eight previous release requests had been rejected. Neither Abdallah's lawyer nor the Lebanese and U.S. embassies were immediately available for comment. In a hearing in February, the Paris court said Abdallah should make an effort to compensate his victims' families, according to a person familiar with the matter. His lawyer said in June that around 16,000 euros ($18,546) had been disbursed into his account, an amount the U.S. Department of Justice and France's general prosecutor said was insufficient and did not come from Abdallah. A source familiar with the case said on Thursday that Abdallah will not have to pay compensation to the victims. It was not clear if there could be further appeals. Abdallah, 74, has remained a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause. 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." However, the U.S. Department of Justice has asserted that his release would pose a threat to the safety of U.S. diplomats. Washington has also used Abdallah's previous comments that he would return to his hometown Qobayyat on the Lebanese-Syrian border as a reason not to release him, given the recent conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters. ($1 = 0.8627 euros)
