Georges Abdallah says his release owed to 'growing mobilization'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agence France-Presse
18 Jul 2025 16:38
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Georges Abdallah, imprisoned since 1984, credits growing public mobilization for his release after nearly 40 years behind bars in France.

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Protesters wave flags depicting the Lebanese activist Georges Abdallah as they demonstrate ahead of the Paris Court of Appeal's decision on his release, in Toulouse, southwestern France, on July 14, 2025 (AFP)

Lebanese activist Georges Abdallah, whose release was approved by a French court on Thursday, attributed the decision to the persistent mobilization of his supporters, calling it a decisive factor in the outcome.

Speaking from his cell at Lannemezan Prison in southern France, during a visit by far-left MP Andrée Taurinya and in the presence of Agence France-Presse, Abdallah said,

“If they agreed to release me, it’s because of the growing mobilization behind the cause.”

Abdallah, 74, an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause, spoke from a cell adorned with a photo of Che Guevara and posters backing Palestine. He emphasized that it was not the length of his imprisonment that influenced the court’s decision.

After four decades behind bars, #GeorgesAbdallah is finally free, but the decision has more than just legal implications. What changed in #France and globally to make this moment possible? pic.twitter.com/65Jok1NvRL
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 17, 2025

“Time spent behind bars doesn’t determine a political prisoner’s release,” he said. “Whether it’s five years, twenty, thirty, or forty, that alone isn’t what leads to freedom.”

Collective action makes the difference

Abdallah argued that it was broader collective action that made the difference, stating that “when a political prisoner or activist in detention becomes part of the larger struggle on the outside, then it’s the mobilization of people out there that secures their release. That’s the real reason.”

For over four decades—41 years to be exact—Lebanese activist #GeorgesAbdallah has remained a steadfast symbol of resistance, never compromising his principles or silencing his voice, even from behind prison bars. pic.twitter.com/Vhi60xOIIf
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 17, 2025

Who is Georges Abdallah?

Abdallah, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has so far served 41 years in prison, which makes him the longest-held prisoner in Europe.

He founded the Marxist-Leninist Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), which claimed responsibility for four operations in France during the 1980s.

The Lebanese revolutionary was accused of taking part in the assassination of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in 1982 and was sentenced on these accusations.

Abdallah never responded to the list of accusations and considered that the French judicial system was "despicably" taking the resistance action out of context.

At his trial for the alleged killing of the diplomats, Abdallah was handed a life sentence, significantly harsher than the 10 years sought by prosecutors. His lawyer, Jacques Verges, called the sentence a "declaration of war."

Abdallah maintains that he is a fighter advocating for Palestinian rights, not a criminal.

He became eligible for parole in 1999, but all previous applications were denied, except in 2013, when his release was conditioned on expulsion from France.

However, then-Interior Minister Manuel Valls refused to implement the order, keeping Abdallah in prison.