A French court approved the release of Georges Abdallah, the longest-held political prisoner in Europe—the internationalist, communist, fighter for liberation.
He is set to be freed on December 6th, 2024, after recently reaching 40 years of imprisonment. His release is contingent upon him leaving France.
For four decades years, immense popular pressure has been directed on French, American, and European authorities to secure his freedom. Last summer, Georges submitted the ninth request for his release, as his minimum sentence ended in 1999. Despite this, American intervention repeatedly blocked his release. Notably, his eighth release request, which was approved by the French judiciary in 2013, would have seen his release, but was overturned by American pressure, absurdly arguing that that the 72-year-old man “may return to the battlefield.” It was revealed in 2015 that Hillary Clinton ordered French FM Fabius to keep Georges imprisoned in 2015. In fact, Georges has been eligible for release since 1999, but the state fears his capacity to galvanize the masses.
Georges, from his humble Lebanese village of Al-Qoubaiyat, he was inspired by the revolutionary broadcasts of the PFLP, and soon formed and led the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF). When the zionist enemy invaded Lebanon in 1982, he worked tirelessly to halt the supply of weapons from Europe to the zionist entity. He was arrested in 1984 under fabricated charges—French police claimed that weapons that were never present were found. By 1987, he was convicted for the alleged murder of a US Army officer and a zionist embassy official in Paris.
Georges neither confirmed nor denied the allegations. To him, the trial was a farce. His position was clear: the French state and its authorities are complicit in the occupation of Lebanon and Palestine. To him, the courts were theatrics, a tool of imperialism to obfuscate the complicity of the US and France in the bombing of his country.
It should be noted that while Georges Abdallah’s release was approved by the French judiciary, it is not the first time that this has happened, as each time, it is met by zionist and Western intervention which may reverse the decision. Nine requests for parole since 1999 have been ignored.
Georges has been eligible for release for 25 years, and in 2013, his release was overturned due to American pressure. Already, the so-called “French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office” has filed an appeal against Georges’ release, which might delay or reverse the court’s decision.
In his own words:
“Comrades, let us be vigilant and prevent the zionist criminals from annihilating the revolutionary heroes in captivity!”
“Let us be worthy of the epic of the torches of freedom, those invincible resistance heroes detained in zionist prisons! Naturally, the popular Palestinian masses and their fighting vanguards in captivity can count on your active solidarity. May a thousand solidarity initiatives flourish for the sake of Palestine and its glorious resistance.”
“Glory and eternity to the martyrs! Victory to the masses and the struggling peoples.”
“Yes to building a comprehensive Arab resistance front to confront normalization in all forms!”
“Down with imperialism and its agents, the zionists, and Arab reactionaries!”
“Together, Comrades, and only together will we win!”
Let us heed his words, remaining vigilant and committed to his vision for justice and liberation, for Georges and for all prisoners in zionist, western, and Arab reactionary prisons.