In a letter seen by Reuters, the U.S. Department of Justice strongly opposed the release of Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who was jailed for attacks on American and Israeli diplomats in France over 40 years ago. Abdallah, a former leader of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigade (LARB), was sentenced to life in 1987 for his involvement in the 1982 murders in Paris of U.S. military attache Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov, as well as the attempted murder of U.S. Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984.
The U.S. argued that sending Abdallah to Lebanon, especially to his hometown, could destabilize an already volatile region and lead to severe public disorder. Despite multiple rejected requests for his release, a Paris court granted conditional freedom in November, but this decision was appealed by France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor, thereby keeping Abdallah in prison pending a ruling on February 20.
The United States has consistently opposed Abdallah’s release, despite Lebanese authorities advocating for his freedom. The case remains a sensitive issue in diplomatic relations, with Paris caught between the requests of Lebanon and the objections of Washington.
Abdallah’s lawyer dismissed the accusations against his client, highlighting that the LARB no longer exists and no violent acts have been attributed to it since 1984. The lawyer also defended Abdallah’s right to resist occupation as a communist activist, citing international conventions that recognize such rights.
The U.S. State Department and Department of Justice did not provide comments on the matter, while France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor refrained from commenting on the letter but reiterated the justifications for keeping Abdallah incarcerated.
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