Appeal court session in George Abdallah's issue adjourned as protests continue

The Appeal court session in the case of Lebanese detainee in French prisons, George Ibrahim Abdallah has been adjourned until the 28th of February.         

This as protesters gathered outside the French embassy in Beirut to call for the immediate release of Abdallah amid tight security measures.                  

Protesters cut-off the Sodeco-Mathaf road denouncing the failure in releasing Abdallah, hoisting banners and chanting slogans.                   

George Abdallah's brother, Joseph hoped that Interior Minister Marwan Charbel would deal with the issue of his brother "in a different way" and pointed out that they will keep on protesting in front the French Embassy until further notice.                

"We will be taking measures upon the Cabinet's decision which will be issued after tomorrow's session," Joseph said.               

For his part, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel arrived at the French Embassy in Beirut to hold talks with Ambassador Patrice Paoli regarding the release of Abdallah.                        

Earlier a delegation of the International Campaign for the release of Georges Abdallah, visited the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adnan Mansour, calling for a more effective intervention by the Lebanese government with the French authorities, in the case of Abdallah.                                   

According to the spokesman of the campaign, Bassam Qontar, visitors called on Mansour to contribute to the formation of a Lebanese official delegation to discuss the case with the French officials.                

Qontar wished that such a decision would be made tomorrow by the Cabinet.               

The French judiciary decided Thursday the 10th of January to release Lebanese national George Ibrahim Abdallah "provided that he be deported", AFP reported, however the decision was deferred for no explained reasons.                                  

Abdallah was jailed 28 years ago for attacks on U.S. and Israeli diplomats in France. The General prosecution has previously appealed the decision of his release. Abdallah had been in prison for over 28 years, even though French law limits the maximum sentence of any prisoner to 18.                                   

He was 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 so far.                         

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.