Pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah is welcomed by well-wishers upon his arrival outside the Beirut International Airport on July 25, 2025. AFP
French authorities deported Abdallah a day earlier than expected in what Al-Mayadeen described as an attempt to disrupt the planned reception and celebrations. The outlet referred to Abdallah as a “revolutionary activist”.
A post on X by the network said: “After 41 years in a French prison, Lebanese revolutionary and activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah has finally been freed. Today, he arrived in Beirut, reuniting with his family and comrades, as countless supporters have long awaited his return.”
“Despite relentless Western pressure to trade his political principles for his legal right to freedom, Abdallah never caved in, choosing to spend most of his life behind bars rather than abandon the cause he stands for,” it added.
A photo taken on 3 July 1986 shows former Lebanese militiaman Georges Ibrahim Abdallah during his trial for complicity in the murder of two diplomats, for which Abdallah was sentenced to life imprisonment. AFP
Supporters gathered outside the airport, waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags and chanting in support of Abdallah.
Some banged on drums and held up Palestinian and Lebanese Communist Party flags and a banner reading, “George Abdallah is free — a Lebanese, Palestinian and international freedom fighter on the road to liberating Palestine,” AP reported.
Abdallah, a former leader of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions, was convicted in France in 1987 over the 1982 assassinations of a US military attaché and an Israeli diplomat. He became eligible for release in 1999 but remained imprisoned amid political opposition from successive French governments, under pressure from the United States and Israel.
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