Georges Abdallah Supporters Laud Paris Parole, Slam Appeal

Supporters of a pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant who has spent 28 years in French jails on Wednesday welcomed a Paris court decision that granted him parole.

But the group denounced in a statement an appeal by French prosecutors that effectively keeps Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a former guerrilla in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), behind bars.

Abdallah, 61 and a Lebanese national, was arrested in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison three years later for his alleged involvement in the 1982 murders of U.S. military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov.

His eighth appeal for parole was granted on condition that he be deported immediately, but his hopes of being freed were dashed when state prosecutors launched their appeal.

Abdallah had been eligible for parole from 1999 onwards but failed in seven previous bids to be released.

The parole was criticized by the U.S. ambassador to France, who argued that Abdallah had never expressed remorse and could yet be a threat if released.

"I am disappointed by the decision today," U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin said in a statement.

"Life imprisonment was the appropriate sentence for Mr. Abdallah’s serious crimes, and there is legitimate concern that Mr. Abdallah would continue to represent a danger to the international community if he were allowed to go free.

"I am hopeful that French authorities will appeal today’s decision and that it will be overturned," the ambassador said.