Lebanese political prisoner George Ibrahim Abdallah to face court today

George Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese political prisoner long held in French prisons will be facing court, as an implementation of the French provisions to reveal whether or not the previous verdict stipulating his deportation effective as of the 14th of January is still effective.            

In this context, the court will hold its session on Thursday at the Justice Palace in Paris to discuss the appeal presented by the public prosecution to overrule the decision of his release.            

The court will take its decision following the deliberations, and will declare it within a period of eight days.           

Abdallah had been in prison for over 28 years, even though French law limits the maximum sentence of any prisoner to 18. He had been accused of engaging in commando operations carried out by the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions; the court was not able to present concrete evidence against him in this regard.            

He 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.