A Lebanese pro-Palestinian militant returns home after 40 years in a French prison

BEIRUT — A Lebanese pro-Palestinian communist militant returned to his hometown in Lebanon on Friday following his release after more than 40 years in prison in France.

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, 74, was serving a life sentence for complicity in the murders of two diplomats, one American and one Israeli, in Paris in 1982.

The Paris Court of Appeal ruled last week that Abdallah, who has been imprisoned in France since his arrest in 1984, could be released on the condition that he leave the country and never return.

Abdallah was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for complicity in the assassinations of U.S. Army Lt. Col. Charles Ray, who was stationed in Paris as an assistant military attaché, and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov.

He became eligible for parole in 1999 but multiple requests he filed since then were denied.

In Lebanon, many saw Abdallah as a political prisoner. While there was no official event marking his return, a crowd of supporters, including several members of Parliament, gathered outside of the Beirut airport to wait for him.

Some banged on drums and held up Palestinian and Lebanese Communist Party flags and a banner reading, “George Abdallah is free — a Lebanese, Palestinian and international freedom fighter on the road to liberating Palestine.” Others stood along the highway leading to the airport, some holding flags of the militant Hezbollah group, which is also a political party in Lebanon.

The crowd broke out in cheers upon hearing the plane carrying Abdallah had landed.

Wearing a Palestinian scarf and a red shirt, Abdallah stopped briefly to greet his supporters before heading to his hometown of Qobayat, a Christian village in the mountains of northern Lebanon.

Speaking to reporters in Beirut, Abdallah called for Arab populations to take to the streets over the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, saying that “Gaza’s children, all of them are walking skeletons, while millions of Arabs are just watching.” He called for confrontation with Israel, saying it is “living the last chapters of its existence.”

In Qobayat, supporters surrounded his car as he arrived, chanting, “Freedom! Freedom!”

Roger Sarkis, a town attorney, said Abdallah was raised in a “very humble home,” with his father serving in Lebanon's Internal Security Forces. He described Abdallah as a self-made man who pursued an education and was “against sectarianism.”

Although Christian, Abdallah had allied himself with predominantly Muslim Palestinians at a time when Lebanese Christian factions were fighting against Palestinian armed groups.

“Of course there is great joy in Qobayat today," Sarkis said. "George Abdallah is the son of Qobayat and has come back to his roots.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Paris posted a photo on X of staffers standing, heads bowed in remembrance, around a memorial plaque at the mission for Ray, the American diplomat slain by Abdallah.

“The United States opposes the release of convicted terrorist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah,” the post said. “His release not only endangers the safety of U.S. diplomats abroad, but also betrays the memory of the victims and their families.”

There was no official statement from Israel on Abdallah's release.