Shafaq News – Beirut

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, one of Europe’s longest-held political prisoners, returned to Beirut on Friday after around 40 years in a French prison.

The 73-year-old militant was released from Lannemezan prison and deported immediately, landing at Rafik Hariri International Airport to a quiet reception by family and supporters. His release followed a Paris appeals court ruling earlier this month, which approved his freedom on the condition that he leave French territory, citing his age, good behavior, and reduced security risk.

French authorities stressed that the release was a judicial decision based solely on legal criteria.

A founding member of the Marxist-Leninist Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (FARL), Abdallah was convicted in 1987 for complicity in the 1982 assassinations of US and Israeli diplomats in Paris, as well as an attempted attack on a US consul.

Though eligible for parole since 1999, his release had been repeatedly blocked due to US and Israeli opposition and his refusal to renounce violence or express remorse.

Over the years, Lebanese officials and leftist groups pressed for his return, describing him as a resistance figure.