Articles on Syrian Crisis

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George Abdallah: The Oldest Prisoner Of "Opinion" In The French Land of Public Liberties (III)

George Abdallah: Not All Lebanese Citizen Are Equal

By: Nader Fawz - January 18^th, 2012, Al Akhbar Newspaper

What does a Lebanese citizen who is imprisoned in a foreign country do?

If he were a diamond merchant in Africa, MPs would send a high-ranking delegation from their ranks to the county in question in order to advocate for the detainee.

But if such a detainee is not politically connected, then little can be done. Taking this into consideration, what should a Lebanese political prisoner in a French prison do?

So far, the answer seems to be nothing. The Lebanese diplomatic corps has not followed up on the issue, the family of the prisoner has no political backing, and no concerned political forces have taken action on the matter recently.

Liberate George Abdallah:
28 Years Are Enough!

The only people concerned with the cause of George Abdallah, who has been imprisoned in France since October 1984, are his family, close friends, and a few young activists from the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth (ULDY). They are also the only ones who are familiar with the details of his case.

They know that Abdallah completed his sentence 12 years ago and that the decision to keep him in prison is motivated by politics. They know that French prosecutors rejected, appealed, and suspended French court decisions to free Abdallah.

They know that he has filed for parole nine times but that all of his requests have been rejected by the French judicial and political authorities.

They know that the French authorities are keeping George Abdallah in prison because, when asked, he tells judges in French courtrooms that if he were to get out of prison, he would not stop his political struggle to liberate Palestine.

While his supporters have little political backing, advocates for Abdallah have established two different organizations to lobby for his release. The first is the International Campaign to Free George Abdallah (ICFGA). The other is a domestic organization – the Committee of the Comrades of George Abdallah (CCGA) – which is primarily made up of his family members, friends, ULDY, and various independent figures.

Twenty-eight years have passed since Abdallah’s arrest and yet many in Lebanon are ignorant concerning the specifics of his case. Some officials still ask who George Abdallah is, while others accept the French authorities’ opinion that he is “a terrorist and a subversive.”

This explains why a close aid of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that the prime minister does not know yet if he is going to bring up Abdallah’s case with French officials during his upcoming visit to France in the first week of February.

This announcement was made despite a visit Wednesday by a delegation from the ICFGA, its second, to the prime minister’s office.

Lebanese officials have not taken action on Abdallah’s case since 1999 when Salim al-Hoss was prime minister. Similar negligence can be observed by other groups in relation to Abdallah’s case, even within some leftist circles to which he belongs.

For example, a few days ago, a conference of the Arab left was held in Beirut. Arab participants paid tribute at the conference to “all the prisoners and detainees in Arab and Western prisons, especially the Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Zionist prisons.”

But neither the summaries, nor the tributes, nor the conference itself remembered George Abdallah.

About one week ago, communication was established between the ICFGA and the Lebanese Consul in France, Ghadi el-Khoury.

El-Khoury told Abdallah’s “comrades” that he discussed the issue with French officials and sent a telegram informing the Lebanese Foreign Ministry about the inquiry and the details of the conversation between the consul and those advocating for Abdallah.

Abdallah’s comrades later found out from the French that “the Lebanese state is not demanding the release of Abdallah.” Abdallah’s supporters say that this should call into question the extent to which the Lebanese government is working for the release of Abdallah.

Two weeks ago, on 5 January 2012, a member of the Free Patriotic Movement’s (FPM) Change and Reform bloc, MP Simon Abi Ramia, sent a message to Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour inquiring about the position of the Lebanese state regarding Abdallah and its failure to demand his release.

The answer was delayed. A written answer concerning the state’s position on Mansour was expected to be delivered within a matter of hours. Instead, the question made the rounds for days between the office of the prime minister and other decision-making centers. This suggests that something is in the works regarding Abdallah’s case among certain parliamentary circles, specifically the Change and Reform bloc, the Amal Movement’s Resistance and Development bloc, and Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc.

After Abi Ramia’s action, informed sources indicated that two MPs, Nawwar al-Sahili (Hezbollah) and Ali Bazzi (Amal), were assigned the task of following up on the issue. They have been working behind the scenes trying to get to know the details of the case.

Joseph Abdallah, George Abdallah’s brother, who is active in the CCGA and the ICFGA says: “In light of the work done by the campaign and certain developments that have taken place, there is talk suggesting that the issue of George Abdallah will be raised again.”

Jospeh points to what the former Director of French Intelligence Yves Bonnet told the newspaper La Dépêche on 7 January 2012, when he attacked his government, characterizing the continued detention of George a “scandal” arguing that the issue has become one of “state vengeance.”

Joseph says there are developments that must be taken seriously without “deluding ourselves with anything.” That is, without misleading George’s comrades and friends concerning what the Lebanese state is capable of doing for Abdallah.

On the other hand, the committee leader in the ULDY, Hassan Sabra, says that the group has worked on this issue since 2006 and will continue to do so until Abdallah is released. Sabra adds that they have established direct communication with the “freedom fighter” because “he trusts us and our activism and he is in line with our views.”

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition

© Al Akhbar Newspaper

George Abdallah: The Oldest Prisoner Of "Opinion" In The French Land of Public Liberties (II)

To Whom It May Concern: Georges Abdallah Is Still In Prison


By Ibrahim Al Amine - January 18^th, 2012, Al Akhbar Newspaper

Simply put, Georges Abdallah is a hostage of the terrorist French authorities.

Of course, the esteemed justice system of the Fifth Republic – the birthplace of human rights – would never be described in such terms. But how should we describe it? Successive governments there have actively violated Georges Abdallah’s right to freedom. Their premise is that he refuses to stop his struggle and that he might once again return to his militant ways.

Liberate Georges Abdallah

What French authorities really seem to be saying is that they are imprisoning Georges Abdallah simply because they can. They are showing that they have the power to hold a believer in a struggle who raised his voice and fought for the oppressed.

What they are saying is that they do not care about legal procedures, humanitarian appeals, or diplomatic letters and that they have decided unilaterally to hold Abdallah as long as they like.

The relative silence of the educated elite, the press, human rights organizations, and the public in France means that they too are complicit in this ongoing crime.

The actions of the French authorities tell us what the lawyers and activists have been saying all along about Georges' case (much like the case of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez a.k.a. Carlos). They tell us that we who support Georges Abdallah and our compatriots imprisoned abroad in Europe and the United States must view what is taking place as nothing short of a terrorist act regardless of whether it is being carried out by an individual, a group, or a state.

In this case, France resembles Israel. They tell us, go ahead and do whatever you can to try to free your prisoners from our jails.

Since it appears that legal avenues are blocked, there is no longer any way to free Georges except to resort to the same methods used against Israel, methods where Georges’ comrades don’t beg the Lebanese state for permission to fulfill its obligations towards its own citizen.

After all, didn’t we once say that we never leave our captured in prison?

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition

© Al Akhbar Newspaper

George Abdallah: The Oldest Prisoner Of "Opinion" In The French Land of Public Liberties (I)

George Abdallah: Exposing the Farce of French Justice

By Othman Tazghart - January 18^th, 2012 - Al Akhbar Newspaper

It is an open secret that radical rebel George Abdallah, largely ignored by western media, was illegally sentenced to life in prison close to three decades ago. But French authorities continue to insist on keeping him behind bars, even after he has completed his prison term.

Immediate Liberation
For George Abdallah

Paris – French authorities are insisting on keeping an ex-fighter in the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) in prison, despite the fact that 28 years have passed since he was first detained. 

This is a major breach of French legal procedures and the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that prisoners serving a life sentence must be released after serving a maximum of 18 years.

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who began his struggle as a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), before joining the LARF, was arrested in Lyon on October 1984. 

At the time, the LARF was accused of a number of high profile commando operations, the most prominent of which were the assassination of the American military attache in Paris, Charles Robert Ray (18 January 1982) and the Israeli diplomat, Ya’acov Bar-Simantov (3 April 1982).

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition

© Al Akhbar Newspaper