Delay of injustice in French courts: Ruling on Georges Abdallah’s liberation delayed until 19 June

Today, as the world waited for the final ruling on the liberation of Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese Communist fighter for Palestine jailed in France for 40 years, the French Court of Appeal has postponed their ruling until 19 June.

In November 2024, a French court ordered Georges liberated after 40 years in French prisons, despite being eligible for release since 1999. However, the state appealed the case, with a ruling expected today — now the decision has been postponed an additional four months.

According to his lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, the court postponed its decision so that the convicted person could “compensate” the “civil parties” — that is, compensate the United States government as a “victim,” for the CIA agent and Mossad agent killed in the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Faction’s operation — something he has always refused to do. Chalanset noted that “Once again, they give in to the United States.” In fact, in Georges’ original trial, he was expected to be sentenced to no more than 10 years prior to the intervention of the United States in the case. Georges Abdallah has always maintained that he would never compensate the United States for dropping bombs on Palestinian and Lebanese people.

This is not the first time that Georges Abdallah was ordered released by the French judiciary, only to have his liberation blocked by the political arms of the state; perhaps the best-known example is that of 2013, when Manuel Valls, then minister of the interior — also known for his criminal prosecutions of activists calling for the boycott of the Zionist regime — blocked his release. Multiple US officials have repeatedly also interfered in his case, from the original trial in 1986 to Secretaries of State Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Clinton intervening in attempts to block his freedom in succeeding appeals.

Notably, French prosecutors had referred to the political situation in Lebanon and the ongoing Zionist attacks on the country and its Resistance as a reason why it was “dangerous” to release Georges Abdallah in their appeal. It is clear that the French — and U.S. — political leadership also do not want to return their unjustly held prisoner only days before the mass funeral for Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine will take the streets in Beirut. France’s imprisonment of Georges Abdallah is part and parcel of its complicity in Zionist-imperialist genocide in Palestine and Lebanon, alongside its armaments and political and diplomatic cover for the Israeli aggression and its ongoing persecution of activists and organizations struggling for justice in Palestine.

Georges Abdallah has been saluted by the Palestinian prisoners’ movement as part of its ranks, and has joined with the Palestinian prisoners in hunger strikes and other protest actions. The movement for his liberation has grown significantly in recent years. Thousands marched outside the prison where he is held in Lannemezan in October 2024, calling for his freedom and return to his homeland, Lebanon. He was visited by several French members of the National Assembly and Members of European Parliament in recent weeks, and 11 Lebanese Parliamentarians raised their voices to demand his freedom and liberation.

For the full story of Georges Abdallah, watch the film Fedayin, on his life and struggle:

Facing the imperialist powers from France to the United States to the Zionist entity, it is urgent to continue our mobilization and action to FREE GEORGES ABDALLAH NOW — Georges Abdallah must be free!