A Lebanese pro-Palestinian militant jailed in France over the murder of two diplomats has returned to Beirut to a fanfare from his supporters, after more than four decades behind bars.
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, 74, was released in the early hours of Friday and deported from France. His flight from Paris arrived in Beirut around 2.30pm local time.
One of the first sounds Abdallah may have heard was the intense noise of an Israeli drone hovering over the Lebanese capital, reported The National‘s correspondent.
Abdallah served a life sentence for complicity in the murders of the diplomats − one American and one Israeli − in Paris in 1982.
The Paris Court of Appeal ruled last week that Abdallah, who has been imprisoned in France since his arrest in 1984, could be released on the condition that he left the country and never returns.
Several hundred supporters gathered to greet the pro-Palestinian Lebanese activist, some waving Lebanese Communist Party and Syrian Social Nationalist Party flags.
Some banged on drums and held up Palestinian flags and a banner reading “Georges Abdallah is free − a Lebanese, Palestinian and international freedom fighter on the road to liberating Palestine”.
In his first public address after being released, Abdallah took aim at Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, where human rights organisations have warned of mass starvation.
“The children of Palestine are dying of hunger while millions of Arabs watch,” he said. “Resistance must continue and intensify.”
The crowd had cheered upon hearing that the aircraft carrying Abdallah had arrived.
No one from the government was present but some members of the Lebanese Parliament were including one from Hezbollah. Osama Saad, leader of the Popular Nasserist Organisation, was at arrivals, as were relatives of Abdallah.
The Lebanese Army had worked to ensure that the entrance and exit of Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport remained passable.
A reception will be held in his home village of Qoubaiyat in Akkar, north-east Lebanon.
Abdallah was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov.
His role in the murders remains unclear. The weapon used to kill the diplomats was found in a hotel room that he used in Paris, but he has never admitted any connection to their deaths, Abdallah’s lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset said.
The French court’s ruling is “both a judicial victory and a political scandal”, Mr Chalanset said last week. He maintains that his client has spent the longest time in prison for acts related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“He has a family, he has a village. He’ll live with the support of his brothers,” Mr Chalanset said.
