Georges Abdallah: Europe's longest-held political prisoner to be freed
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Georges Ibrahim Abdallah spent 41 years in French prisons without regret, becoming Europe's longest-held political prisoner and a global symbol of resistance.
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Georges Abdallah: Europe's longest-held political prisoner to be freed
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the Lebanese revolutionary and steadfast political prisoner, is set to be released on July 25, 2025, marking the end of one of the longest political detentions in modern European history. His incarceration, lasting over 41 years in French prisons, has been the subject of sustained legal, diplomatic, and grassroots efforts demanding his release as Europe’s longest-held political prisoner.
The decision to free Abdallah followed decades of pressure from Lebanese and international human rights groups, who argued that his continued imprisonment served political interests rather than legal justice. Though he had met all legal conditions for release since 1999, Abdallah remained behind bars due to repeated political interventions, chiefly from the United States, which labeled him a threat to national security even after the end of his formal sentence, and the Israeli regime.
The news of his pending release sparked widespread relief and celebration in Lebanon and across the Arab world, as it was viewed as a long-overdue act of justice.
Early life and political awakening
Born in 1951 in Qoubaiyat, a town in northern Lebanon, Georges Abdallah came from a Maronite Christian family. He pursued higher education in France, where he studied philosophy at the University of Toulouse. It was during this period that he was first exposed to leftist and revolutionary thought, which would come to define his political identity.
Abdallah returned to Lebanon at the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in the mid-1970s and joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC). Motivated by anti-colonial conviction and belief in the Palestinian cause, he embraced the path of armed struggle, which would later draw the attention of Western intelligence services.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Abdallah was an active figure within leftist revolutionary circles in Lebanon and the wider Arab world. He was aligned with Arab nationalist and anti-imperialist movements and maintained close ties with several European leftist groups that shared his views on resistance and decolonization.
During this period, operations carried out by groups allegedly linked to Abdallah targeted Israeli and American diplomats in Paris. Although no direct evidence connected Abdallah to these actions, they placed him squarely in the crosshairs of Western and French security agencies.
Arrest and trial in France
Abdallah was arrested in Lyon, France, in 1984 on charges of carrying forged documents. Within a short time, the case escalated as French authorities accused him of participating in acts of terrorism, largely due to his political associations and prior membership in the PFLP-GC.
Despite the lack of solid evidence, his case became highly politicized, fueled by media campaigns in France and the US. From the beginning, human rights organizations and legal observers regarded him not as a criminal but a political prisoner, which became the more prevalent view worldwide.
In 1987, Abdallah was sentenced to life imprisonment, which was said to have been the product of a political trial, not one grounded in law. As years passed, questions surrounding the fairness of his trial and the independence of the French judiciary intensified, especially after the release of declassified documents suggesting that US pressure had directly influenced France’s refusal to grant parole.
According to Jacques Attali, a senior adviser to then-President François Mitterrand, there was “no legal evidence” against Abdallah apart from his possession of a forged passport.
Blocked release despite legal eligibility
Abdallah became eligible for parole in 1999, having fulfilled all legal conditions for early release. However, successive French governments repeatedly refused to execute court decisions authorizing his release, citing "diplomatic pressure", primarily from Washington.
At one point, the French government demanded guarantees from Beirut that Abdallah would be repatriated to Lebanon immediately upon release. But even these assurances failed to overcome the political blockade imposed on his case.
For over four decades, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah remained confined in a French prison cell, unrepentant and unwavering. Never once did he express regret for his beliefs, nor did he agree to any compromise in exchange for early release. Instead, he held firm to his revolutionary and political convictions, authoring letters and essays from behind bars that reflected a sharp political consciousness and steadfast commitment to the Palestinian cause and regional liberation struggles.
Abdallah consistently rejected conditional release offers that required him to renounce his ideological positions. This unyielding stance earned him widespread respect across Arab and international progressive movements.
In 2024, on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, Abdallah issued a letter from prison reaffirming that the issue of Palestinian detainees must remain central to the liberation struggle. He described the release of prisoners as a non-negotiable imperative and praised their perseverance as a core expression of resistance in the face of escalating repression and extermination policies pursued by the Israeli occupation.
Local and international solidarity
Solidarity campaigns advocating for Abdallah’s freedom continued for decades, both in Lebanon and within France itself. Human rights organizations, leftist movements, and student groups mobilized to demand his immediate release, consistently framing him as a political prisoner rather than a criminal.
The annual demonstrations outside Lannemezan Prison in southern France became a symbol of enduring support, with slogans such as “Freedom for Georges Abdallah” and “France jails the honorable” echoing year after year.
Why Abdallah is the oldest political prisoner in Europe
With more than 41 years behind bars, Georges Abdallah holds the distinction of being the longest-serving political prisoner in Europe. His incarceration far exceeded that of other political detainees in the Western world. Over time, he became a global symbol of political injustice and the instrumentalization of legal systems to serve geopolitical agendas.
Abdallah’s resilience elevated him to iconic status among resistance movements, and his case remains a striking example of the double standards in Western rhetoric on rights and liberties.
Since his arrest, numerous Lebanese voices, official and grassroots, have called for Abdallah’s release. While formal diplomatic momentum was at times inconsistent, his cause never disappeared from Lebanese political discourse.
Preparations for his return were already underway in Beirut and his hometown of Qoubaiyat, reflecting the emotional and symbolic weight his case carries in the national consciousness.
State efforts to ensure his liberation
Despite repeated legal approvals for his release, French authorities blocked his deportation. In February 2012, then-Prime Minister Najib Mikati visited Paris and publicly requested Abdallah’s release, describing him as a “political prisoner.”
In 2013, a French court again authorized his release, contingent on his deportation to Lebanon. Yet the Interior Ministry failed to issue the required deportation order, effectively keeping him in custody. In 2018, President Michel Aoun tasked General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim with addressing the case directly with Bernard Émié, the head of French foreign intelligence, in search of a solution.
Numerous demonstrations were staged outside the French Embassy in Beirut over the years, calling for his immediate release and the signing of the deportation order. In 2021, Lebanon’s National Campaign to Free Georges Ibrahim Abdallah held a sit-in marking his 70th birthday.
A Decision With Legal, Political, and Moral Implications
The French decision to finally release Georges Abdallah marks a significant shift, one that may reflect changing public sentiment or official recognition that continued detention can no longer be justified legally or politically.
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in France reported that Georges Abdallah’s lawyer has officially informed him of the court’s decision granting his release.
Speaking to Al Mayadeen, Abdallah’s lawyer confirmed that political interference, particularly from the United States, had delayed the legal proceedings that should have led to his release much earlier.
“The United States exerted pressure to obstruct the legal process leading to his release,” he stated, framing the case as a political decision rather than a judicial one. The lawyer also conveyed his congratulations to Abdallah’s family.
The Lebanese embassy in Paris is set to handle the official procedures to facilitate the transfer of Georgess Ibrahim Abdallah to the airport ahead of his return to Lebanon, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in the French capital.
