Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network in Istanbul held a protest in front of the French consulate in Istanbul on Friday, 21 October, as part of the international week of solidarity with Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the imprisoned internationalist struggler.
The protest included the participation of Palestinian diaspora organizers and Turkish pro-Palestinian parties, associations and activists. Despite the police forces’ demand and pressure to cancel the protest, tens of activists were present to express their solidarity with Georges Abdallah.
A press statement by Samidoun was read during the protest emphasizing their strong solidarity with George Abdallah and condemning the French government’s support for the Israeli state and its occupation and colonization of Palestine. The statement and speakers affirmed that George Abdallah will be free, whether sooner or later, and is an example who teaches all revolutionary movements in the world the meaning of the continuous struggle against Zionism and its imperialist allies.
Protesters chanted, spoke and distributed a Samidoun pamphlet in Turkish calling for action about Georges Abdallah and the struggle of the Palestinian prisoners. However, the protest was forced to an early close under police pressure and the high security demands of the French Consulate.
The event in Istanbul came alongside related actions in the United States, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the UK, Palestine, Italy, Lebanon, Austria, Greece and elsewhere in support of Georges Abdallah. Abdallah has been imprisoned for 32 years in French prisons for alleged involvement in attacks by Lebanese resistance organizations in France in the early 1980s targeting US and Israeli officials, during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. With a long history of involvement in communist, revolutionary and Palestinian movements, including involvement with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Abdallah’s case is a symbol of international support for Palestinian resistance and the international struggle of Palestinian prisoners. He has been eligible for release since 1999 and yet has been repeatedly denied parole, including through the intervention of the highest levels of the French state after judicial victories.
See Turkish language report and details; More information at BDS Turkiye
