A French court has ordered the conditional release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian Arab Lebanese terrorist who has spent 40 years in prison for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats, prosecutors said Friday, according to the AFP news agency.
Abdallah, who was first detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987 for his role in the murders, will be released on December 6, provided he leaves France, according to a statement from French anti-terror prosecutors. However, they added that an appeal against the ruling is forthcoming.
"In (a) decision dated today, the court granted Georges Ibrahim Abdallah conditional release from December 6, subject to the condition that he leaves French territory and not appear there again," the prosecutors said, as quoted by AFP.
The release remains uncertain, as the appeal by prosecutors will be reviewed at a hearing on a yet-to-be-determined date.
Abdallah, now 73, was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization and was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the murders of US military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov. Washington has consistently opposed his release, while Lebanese authorities have repeatedly called for his freedom.
Abdallah has described himself as a "fighter" advocating for Palestinian Arab rights and has never admitted criminal wrongdoing. His latest release request was his 11th attempt, following eligibility for parole since 1999.
His only successful bid was in 2013 when a court granted release contingent on his expulsion from France, but the then-interior minister, Manuel Valls, blocked the decision.
Abdallah, who has never shown remorse for his actions, was arrested in 1984 after reporting to a police station in Lyon, claiming Mossad assassins were targeting him. His life sentence, handed down after his trial for the killings, exceeded the 10-year sentence sought by prosecutors.
Abdallah has garnered support from far-left groups and communists in France. Last month, Nobel literature laureate Annie Ernaux wrote in L'Humanité that his continued imprisonment "shamed France."
Demonstrations demanding his release included a gathering of 200 people in Toulouse on Thursday and a protest of 2,000 outside Lannemezan prison in October to mark the 40th anniversary of his arrest, noted AFP.
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