French court refuses to release Georges Abdallah
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Georges Abdallah has been held in detention for 38 years despite the end of his so-called sentence period, says activist Rita Ibrahim.
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Lebanese revolutionary Georges Abdallah
A French court will not allow the release of the Lebanese revolutionary Georges Abdallah, according to AFP.
On her account, activist Rita Ibrahim told Al Mayadeen that the administrative court's decision is political and comes amid US pressure, adding that Georges Abdallah has been held in detention for 38 years despite the end of his so-called sentence period.
SEP Turkey protested the oppresion over Georges Abdallah, one of the most emblematic names of the Palestinian cause, who has been in prison in France for 37 years.#FreeGeorgesAbdallah@SEPmedya pic.twitter.com/4QKfo0hu1j
— Liga Internacional Socialista (@isl_lis) February 10, 2022
Abdallah, sentenced to life in 1987, served 38 years in prison, which makes him one of the oldest prisoners in France. He was accused of assassinating US and Israeli diplomats and was sentenced based on these accusations.
On January 27, Abdallah went back to court in France to request his deportation in a step that comes ahead of his possible release.
At the time, Abdallah's lawyer said that keeping him, the oldest political prisoner in Europe, incarcerated is a "lack of courage" and "subservience" from Paris.
The United States systemically opposes the demands of freeing Abdallah, as said by their French lawyer Georges Kiejman.
Kiejman, however, acknowledges the length of the sentence, but he said he did not think the "hostile attitude of the US government is the determinant cause" behind Abdallah still being behind bars.
The court has postponed issuing any decision regarding Georges Abdallah's deportation from #France till February 10.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 27, 2022
Abdallah, sentenced to life in 1987, has been in prison for 38 years, making him one of the oldest prisoners in France. #FreeGeorgesAbdallah pic.twitter.com/hniKn96uDc
In 2015, a decision deemed "very regressive" by the defense, the Paris Court of Appeals rejected a demand for freeing Abdallah, arguing that there had been no official order to deport him from France.
Over the years, leftist MPs and human rights organizations such as the Human Rights League (LDH) and even the French intelligence chief called for his release.
It had been possible to release Abdallah in 1999, but French authorities denied his eight parole requests.
The judiciary agreed several times to these requests, given that the French Interior Ministry planned on deporting him, but that decision was never taken.
Seven years since his latest parole request, the Lebanese revolutionary changed his strategy and is now back before the judiciary requesting that he be deported from France.
