A protester holds a flag with the slogan “Freedom for Georges Abdallah” during a demonstration to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese terrorist held in France since 1984, on the eve of a French appeals court ruling on his conditional release, in Paris, France, July 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Abdul Saboor

A French court on Thursday ruled in favor of releasing Lebanese terrorist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah from prison, after he served almost 40 years of a life sentence for attacks on US and Israeli diplomats in France.

The Paris Appeals court agreed to Abdallah’s release on July 25 on the condition he leaves France, a judicial source said. A second source familiar with the case said he would be deported to Lebanon.

Abdallah is the former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions. He was jailed in 1987 for his role in the 1982 murders in Paris of US military attache Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov and for the attempted murder of US Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984.

The US Department of Justice and France’s general prosecutor have for years vigorously opposed his release, and eight previous release requests had been rejected.

Neither Abdallah’s lawyer nor the Lebanese and US embassies were immediately available for comment.

In a hearing in February, the Paris court said Abdallah should make an effort to compensate his victims’ families, according to a person familiar with the matter.

His lawyer said in June that around 16,000 euros ($18,546) had been disbursed into his account, an amount the US Department of Justice and France’s general prosecutor said was insufficient and did not come from Abdallah.

A source familiar with the case said on Thursday that Abdallah will not have to pay compensation to the victims.

It was not clear if there could be further appeals.

Abdallah, 74, has remained a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause.

The Paris court has described his behavior in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed “no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts.”

However, the US Department of Justice has asserted that his release would pose a threat to the safety of US diplomats.

Washington has also used Abdallah’s previous comments that he would return to his hometown Qobayyat on the Lebanese-Syrian border as a reason not to release him, given the recent conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

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