After he served almost 40 years of a life sentence,
French court backs release of Lebanese militant jailed for US, Israeli diplomat murders
By John Irish and Dominique Vidalon July 17, 2025
Summary
- Abdallah was head of Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions
- Handed life sentence in 1987
- French court agrees release on July 25, judicial source says
- He will then leave France, sources say
PARIS, July 17 (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.
The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.
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.
The Popular Front congratulates international activist George Abdallah on his release and considers his steadfastness a victory for Palestine and the will of the free.
July 17, 2025 | 20:14
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine congratulates comrade and internationalist Georges Abdallah on his release after more than four decades in French prisons. Abdallah's heroic and exceptional defiance of the most heinous tools of imperialist oppression has been met with widespread condemnation. Abdallah warns against any imperialist or Zionist pressures or attempts to thwart this decision, as has happened before.
This decision represents a victory for the will to persevere and the revolutionary resolve, and at the same time embodies a victory for the Palestinian cause, whose banner this great progressive leader proudly and skillfully carried.
The continued detention of Comrade Abdullah, despite a judicial order for his release, is a stain on the brow of French and American imperialism, and a blatant act of complicity with the Zionist entity. We recall that this arrest and detention is purely political and represents a blatant violation of the law and French judicial decisions. We commend his principled stance rejecting all attempts at blackmail and bargaining, and his insistence on the legitimacy of the Palestinian resistance, considering it a legitimate and non-negotiable option.
The Front affirms that Abdullah's imprisonment for all these years is a clear message to the world about the necessity of confronting the forces of colonialism and global arrogance, exposing the crimes of Zionism and imperialism, and rejecting subservience and submission. His legendary steadfastness also represents an inspiring model for the Arab and international revolutionary left, and must constitute the beginning of a genuine renaissance in the battle for national and social liberation, for a free Palestine from the sea to the river.
The Front highly appreciates the efforts of all free people around the world, especially the International Campaign in Solidarity with Georges Abdallah, and all the parties, groups, and progressive international activists who have not hesitated for a single moment to continue their pressure and struggle for his release, out of their belief that defending Abdallah is a defense of justice and the Palestinian cause, which Abdallah has made the primary compass of his struggle.
The Front also appreciates Comrade Abdullah's stances inside his prison, his steadfast support for Palestinian prisoners in their struggles, and his undertaking of symbolic hunger strikes in support of them, led by the imprisoned leader Comrade Ahmed Saadat, Secretary-General of the Popular Front. Saadat emphasized that the prisoners' struggle is a single battle against oppression and colonialism, and that international solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people is not limited by bars or restricted by prisons.
The Front calls for an escalation of the struggle to release all political prisoners and detainees in Zionist and Western prisons, and views this battle as an integral part of the international struggle against injustice and colonialism.
Glory to the international activist Georges Abdallah... freedom for Palestinian prisoners in the prisons of the Zionist occupation and Western prisons, and victory for Palestine and the resistance.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Central Media Department
July 17, 2025
