‘The Resistance is Strong’ – Georges Abdallah Freed After 41 Years in Prison

July 25, 2025

Georges Abdallah was liberated after 41 years in a French prison. (Photo: via social media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The 74-year-old activist, considered one of France’s longest-serving prisoners, was welcomed by crowds of supporters.

Freed pro-Palestinian Lebanese activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah told reporters on his arrival back in Beirut on Friday that the Palestinian Resistance “is strong” with Israel “living the final phases of its existence.”

Abdallah’s release was ordered by a French court last week after he spent more than 40 years in prison following his conviction for involvement in the 1982 assassination of two foreign diplomats in Paris.

“As long as there is resistance, there is return. And that return is powerful, backed by the martyrs who created a stream of resisting blood,” Abdallah reportedly told journalists at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport following his arrival, according to the Anadolu news agency.

“We will forever honor the martyrs of the resistance. They are the foundation of any idea of liberation,” he stated.

‘We Must Continue Fighting’

The 74-year-old activist, considered one of France’s longest-serving prisoners, was welcomed by crowds of supporters, including lawmakers and political figures, who gathered at the airport.

“I endured 41 years in prison, thanks to the resilience rooted here,” Abdallah, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, stated.

“The struggle against the enemy has prevailed. We must continue fighting it until it is completely driven out,” he continued, in a video shared on social media, adding, “Israel is living the final phases of its existence.”

On the question of the Palestinian Resistance, Abdallah said “The Resistance and Palestine must continue and grow.  As long as there is resistance, we will return to the homeland, me and all the prisoners.”

‘Leaders are Martyrs’

Abdallah emphasized that the Resistance “is not weak. The resistance is strong thanks to the actions of its martyrs. Its leaders are martyrs, so the resistance is strong. The resistance is weak when its leaders are traitors. Our resistance is not made of traitors.”

In a salute to the Resistance as well as the assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Abdallah stated, ‘Resistance is Freedom. Rally around the Resistance. Rally around Gaza, around the supporters of Resistance. You are the symbol of honor and dignity.”

‘Resistance Firmly Anchored’

Abdallah also cited Abdallah as reiterating his steadfast support for the Palestinian Resistance, declaring, “With resistance, the road home is never lost.”

“Today, more than ever, everyone must unite around the resistance,” the activist added, asserting that it is “firmly anchored in this land and cannot be eradicated.”

Abdallah said, “We bow our heads in honor of the Resistance’s martyrs,” while turning to those imprisoned in the struggle, he said “their resilience inside depends on our steadfastness outside.”

He also remarked that “It is a shame, which will go down in history, how Arabs merely watch as the people of Palestine and Gaza suffer.”

Addressing the Egyptian people directly, Abdallah said, “The masses of Egypt hold the power to transform the situation in Gaza.”

He also reportedly said, “If two million Egyptians took to the streets to protest, there would be no massacres, no genocide.”

‘Symbol of Struggle’

A former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), Abdallah was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for alleged involvement in the 1982 killings of US military attaché Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yakov Barsimentov in Paris.

The Paris Court of Appeal ordered his release on the condition that he leave France and not return.

According to an Al Jazeera Arabic report, the court’s judges deemed the length of his detention “disproportionate” to the crimes committed and the age of the former commander of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Forces (LARF).

The report noted that the ruling stated that Abdullah had become “a symbol of the Palestinian struggle from the past,” and that the group he led, an anti-imperialist Marxist organization, was dissolved and “had not committed any acts of violence since 1984.”

Repeated Parole Requests

Despite repeated Lebanese government requests for his release and a parole granted by a French court in 2013, Abdallah’s release was stalled due to political opposition, particularly from the US, Anadolu reported.

His return has been hailed by leftist and resistance-aligned groups in Lebanon as a symbol of resilience and tenacity in the face of Western pressure.

According to Abdallah’s family, cited by Al Jazeera Arabic, the activist is scheduled to travel to his hometown of Qoubaiyat in northern Lebanon, where a public and official reception will be held.

Abdallah has been eligible for parole for 25 years, but 12 requests for his release have all been rejected, the report noted.

(PC, AJA, Anadolu, Al Mayadeen)