Lebanese activist Georges Abdallah returns to Beirut after 41 years in French prison

By Wassim Seifeddine and Ikram Kouachi

BEIRUT/ANKARA (AA) - Lebanese activist Georges Abdallah arrived in Beirut on Friday after spending 41 years in French prisons, following his conviction in the 1980s over the assassination of an Israeli and an American diplomat and charges related to illegal weapons possession.

The 74-year-old pro-Palestinian activist landed at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on an Air France flight, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA).

Dozens of supporters gathered at the airport entrance and near the VIP lounge to greet Abdallah, who was escorted through the arrivals area amid celebratory chants and applause.

Speaking to reporters upon arrival, Abdallah said: “We will forever honor the martyrs of the resistance. They are the foundation of any idea of liberation.”

“As long as there is resistance, there is return. And that return is powerful, backed by the martyrs who created a stream of resisting blood,” he stated.

Abdallah was arrested in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison by a French court in 1987 for his involvement in the assassinations of US military attache Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris in 1982. He was also convicted of having forged documents and illegal weapons.

Despite repeated Lebanese government requests for his release and a parole granted by a French court in 2013, Abdallah's release was stalled due to political opposition, particularly from the US.

His return has been hailed by leftist and resistance-aligned groups in Lebanon as a symbol of resilience and tenacity in the face of Western pressure.

Abdallah is considered by his supporters as a political prisoner, while critics continue to view his case through the lens of international terrorism.