The French judiciary is set to review a new request for the conditional release of Lebanese Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has spent 40 years in prison following his conviction for complicity in the assassination of American and Israeli diplomats. Although French law has allowed for his release since 1999, all of his repeated requests have been denied.
Jean-Louis Chalanset, Abdallah’s lawyer, said his client is “the oldest prisoner in the world related to the Middle Eastern conflict,” adding that “it’s time for his release.” He also stated that Abdallah fears for his safety if he remains in France, urging his deportation to Lebanon.
Abdallah, 73, was active in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine when he was arrested on October 24, 1984. In 1987, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for complicity in the assassination of American diplomat Charles Robert Day and Israeli Yaakov Barsiman-Tov in Paris in 1982, as well as the attempted assassination of U.S. Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984.
In 2013, the French judiciary initially agreed to release him on the condition of deportation to Lebanon, but the Interior Ministry did not issue the necessary expulsion order, keeping him in prison.
In 2020, Abdallah renewed his attempts through correspondence with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, but these efforts went unanswered.
Some analysts believe that American pressure is one of the factors behind the continued refusal to release Abdallah, as Washington was one of the parties that filed lawsuits against him and has strongly opposed his release for decades.
In May 2023, 28 left-wing French MPs signed a statement calling for Abdallah’s release, urging the authorities to end his detention, which they claim exceeds the standards of justice.
However, the French government remains hesitant to take this step, while solidarity protests continue outside the Lannemezan prison, where Abdallah is serving his sentence.