One of the oldest prisoners in France regains his freedom. Sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment for complicity in two assassinations, Georges Abdallah came out of prison on July 25.
The plane carrying Georges Abdallah to Lebanon took off shortly after 9:30 am from the Tarmac from this airport in the Paris region, said an airport source. A convoy of six vehicles, including two black vans and the car of the prefect of Hautes-Pyrénées, had launched a light-like grip from the Lannemezan Penitentiary Center (Hautes-Pyreenées) on the blows of 03:40.
Soon back in Lebanon
Georges Abdallah, 74, must now be brought to Tarbes airport, said a source in the police, where an aircraft will take him to Roissy to take a flight to Beirut in Lebanon.
“It is both a joy for him, an emotional shock and a political victory after all this time”, Avocate said his lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset after the departure of the convoy, without being able to confirm the presence of Georges Abdallah in one of the Vans. “He should have come out so long ago.”
The Paris Court of Appeal ordered its release last week, “As of July 25”provided that it leaves French territory and no longer returns to it. He had been liberable since 1999 but had seen his ten requests until then failed.
A cassation appeal against his release
The Paris public prosecutor’s office announced on Monday, July 21, an appeal in cassation against the Liberation decision. This appeal, which will not be examined for several weeks, is not suspensive and will therefore not prevent the departure of Georges Abdallah from France.
According to his lawyer, who saw him last time in his prison on Thursday, “He seemed very happy with his next release, even if he knows that he arrives in the Middle East in an extremely heavy context for Lebanese and Palestinian populations.”
The lawyer must now, he says, “Prevent those who await it on Saturday in Beirut”, Because Georges Abdallah should rally his native country one day earlier than expected.
In recent days, Georges Abdallah has therefore emptied his cell, decorated with a red flag of Che Guevara and overflowing with piles of newspapers and books, which he entrusted to his small support committee, some of which were still in front of the prison on Thursday afternoon. He also gave the majority of his clothes to fellow prisoners, and only takes‘”A small suitcase”testified his lawyer.
