Lebanon: Minister visits Europe’s longest-serving political prisoner

By Gulsen Topcu

BEIRUT (AA) – Lebanon’s justice minister visited a Lebanese man dubbed Europe’s longest-serving political prisoner who has been serving a life sentence in France, local media reported Sunday.

“Last Friday, Marie-Claude Najm visited prisoner Georges [Ibrahim] Abdallah for three hours at Lannemezan Prison in France,” the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

“Najm had previously raised his file in May 2020 in a phone call with former French Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet. It is to note that Abdallah will be completing his 37th year of imprisonment in October,” the report added.

On Saturday, Abdallah's family expressed their sincere appreciation for the visit, hoping it would yield positive results, according to NNA.

Abdallah remains in prison despite completing the minimum term of his sentence, according to his friends and relatives.

He was part of the left-wing Lebanese National Movement and later joined the Palestinian resistance. He was arrested in Lyon, France on Oct. 24, 1984 and later sentenced for complicity in the assassinations of an Israeli and a US diplomat.