A large crowd gathered at Beirut’s international airport on Friday to welcome George Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese pro-Palestinian communist militant who was released from a French prison after serving more than four decades behind bars.
His return to Lebanon comes after a controversial ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal, which approved his release on the condition that he leave France and never return.
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Abdallah, now 74, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his role in the 1982 assassinations of U.S. Army Lt. Col. Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yaakov Bar-Siman-Tov in Paris.
Arrested in 1984, Abdallah became eligible for parole in 1999, but his requests were repeatedly denied over the years due to the political sensitivity of his case and opposition from both the United States and Israel.
Despite his convictions, Abdallah has remained a symbol of resistance for many in Lebanon and among certain pro-Palestinian groups. His supporters view him as a political prisoner, while others—particularly in the U.S., Israel, and parts of Europe—condemn his release, calling it a failure of justice given the gravity of his crimes.
French authorities finally approved his conditional release last week, ending one of the country’s longest-serving prison terms for political violence. His arrival in Lebanon was met with cheers, banners, and chants by those who see him as a national hero, even as his legacy remains deeply polarizing.
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The case of George Abdallah continues to stir debate across international diplomatic and legal circles, reflecting the enduring tensions at the intersection of political ideology, justice, and global terrorism.
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