By Maher Khazaal
The French Administrative Court held a hearing on January 27 based on the lawsuit filed by the lawyer of the Lebanese Georges Ibrahim Abdullah, detained in French prisons since October 1984. Prisoner Abdullah received more than one French court decision to release him, the last of which was in 2013, but French government interventions in the judiciary stalled the decision. After the court concluded its deliberations and discussed the case today, it decided to issue a decision next February 10.
The Administrative Court held its session on January 27 at the request of the lawyer for prisoners in French prisons for more than 37 years. The session was accompanied by a sit-in in front of the court in Paris of various communist parties and forces. La Commune, our section of the ISL in France, participated in support of the militant Georges Abdullah.
In Beirut, on the night of 01/26, and before the court session, several members of the Youth Movement for Change painted slogans on the wall of the French Embassy in Beirut, asking the French Minister of the Interior to sign the decision to deport Georges Abdullah to Lebanon because this signature is the last step before his freedom, in addition to the slogans calling for Abdullah’s freedom from French prisons. The security forces arrested the two comrades, Khoder Anwar and Muhammad Abbas.
Comrade Muhammad Abbas was released hours after arrest while Comrade Khoder Anwar was transferred to the Military Police based on a search and investigation warrant issued by the army command against him on charges of harshly treating members of the army! Comrade Anwar was released after a long delay in the investigation procedures towards him. In conclusion, the issue of Comrade Abdullah’s imprisonment for more than 37 years is not just a humanitarian issue. Rather, the American and Israeli pressures on successive French governments are public to prevent his release, since he is a symbol and model to resist colonialism and the right of peoples to liberation and self-determination. We will continue until we achieve his release.