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yesterday

French Court Orders Release of Lebanese Activist After 41 Years in Prison

The ruling reflects a 2021 European Court of Human Rights finding that a life sentence without realistic parole beyond 40 years breaches European human rights standards.

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FILE - Georges Ibrahim Abdallah arrives at the Pau appeal court, southwestern France, Thursday Feb. 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Bob Edme, File)
A protester holds a flag with the slogan "Freedom for Georges Abdallah" during a demonstration to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese militant held in France since 1984, on the eve of a French appeals court ruling on his conditional release, in Paris, France, July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File photo
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Overview

  • He was arrested in 1984 and convicted in 1987 for his role in the killings of U.S. military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov.
  • He founded the Marxist-Communist Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions in 1978, forging ties with Italy’s Red Brigades and Germany’s Red Army Faction.
  • His eligibility for parole since 1999 was undercut by 11 denials driven by U.S. and Israeli pressure and appeals from anti-terror prosecutors.
  • A November 2023 ruling granting conditional release was nullified after prosecutors appealed over his refusal to renounce his political views.
  • Global human rights organizations have held protests for years, portraying him as a political prisoner and decrying the lengthy incarceration.