PNN – George Abdullah, the great Lebanese fighter who spent half of his life in a French prison, returned to his country without ever abandoning his original positions in supporting the resistance and fighting against oppression and arrogance, and today he is a living symbol of freedom not only in Lebanon, but throughout the world.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, George Ibrahim Abdullah, a prominent Lebanese fighter whose release has been reported in various media outlets around the world, once again reiterated his original stance in defense of the resistance when he arrived at Beirut airport yesterday after being released from a French prison after 41 years, saying: The resistance in Palestine must continue and intensify.
A fighter who returned to Lebanon supporting the resistance
George Abdullah emphasized: It is a shame for history that the Arabs are spectators to the suffering of the Palestinian people and Gaza. We bow our heads forever to the martyrs of the resistance, and these martyrs are the fundamental axis of any savior ideal. As long as there is resistance, there will be a return to the homeland, and the homeland is strong with the blood of the martyrs.
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This great Lebanese fighter, paying tribute to the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, stated: The resistance continues in our land and cannot be eradicated. The resistance never weakens; rather, it becomes stronger after the martyrdom of its commanders and leaders, and today, more than ever, we must unite around the resistance.
George Abdullah, who spent more than four decades of his life and his entire youth in prison, has now entered his 80s and has stepped out of the depths of prison into freedom. Enduring 41 years of pain in prison has not caused him to turn away from his original stance of faith in resistance.
Who is George Abdullah, a prominent Lebanese activist and the oldest political prisoner in Europe?
George Ibrahim Abdullah, also known by the pseudonym “Abdulqader Saadi”, was born on April 2, 1951, in the village of Al-Qabiyat in the Akkar region of northern Lebanon, to a Maronite Christian family, and his father served in the Lebanese Army.
He completed his education at the Teachers’ College in Ashrafieh, Beirut, graduating in 1970, and then began his professional career as a teacher in a school in Akkar. It was at this time that George Abdullah’s awareness began to take shape as a result of the tragic conditions that Lebanon, and the Akkar region in particular, was suffering from.
In 1980, George Abdullah and his friends founded armed anti-imperialist movements and carried out operations and activities in support of Palestine. Their movement was accused of operations including the killing of Charles Ray, the then military attaché at the US Embassy in France, and Yakov Barsimatov, the second counselor at the Israeli Embassy in Paris.
41 years of resistance in prison
George Abdallah was arrested in France on October 24, 1984, by the country’s police on charges of possessing a fake Algerian passport and sentenced to 4 years in prison. In 1987, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for complicity in the assassination of American and Israeli diplomats.
According to George Abdullah’s lawyer, his trial was being pursued in France by a foreign power (referring to the United States), and Washington was obstructing any action or effort to free him. In 1999, George Abdullah was eligible for release under French law, but his requests for release were repeatedly rejected, and Paris feared that the release of George Abdullah, as a symbolic figure in the fight against Zionism, would be a major event in Lebanon and the entire world.
During his trial in France, George famously said: I am a fighter, not a criminal. The path I have taken has been driven by human rights violations against Palestine.
In 2012, former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati went to Paris to demand the release of George Abdullah, which France did not agree to. In 2013, the French judiciary initially agreed to release George Abdullah on the condition that he be deported to Lebanon, but the French Interior Ministry did not allow this. In 2018, former Lebanese President Michel Aoun ordered the country’s Director General of Public Security to contact the head of France’s foreign intelligence service to find a solution for George Abdullah’s release. In 2020, George Abdullah resumed his efforts through correspondence with the Minister of the Interior, but his efforts remained unanswered.
Finally, on July 17, 2025, the French judiciary issued an order for the release of George Abdullah, and he was released yesterday, Friday, July 25, and returned to Beirut.
Which parties were at fault in the George Abdullah case?
The parties involved in the George Ibrahim Abdullah case, politically and legally, are: Lebanon as the country to which George Ibrahim Abdullah belongs, France, which arrested him, and the United States and Israel, which pressured France to arrest and keep George Abdullah in prison for a long time.
But Lebanon itself and its successive governments bear great responsibility for what happened to George Abdullah; none of these governments took decisive action to support him and did not pursue his case, which was in fact a national, legal, political, humanitarian, and moral case. Accordingly, many believe that various Lebanese governments, under American pressure and dictates, have not paid attention to George Abdullah’s case and have shied away from this national and historical responsibility.
As for France, it naturally bears responsibility for the arbitrary detention of George Abdullah and the flagrant violation of human rights, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. This responsibility lies with successive French governments, as well as with the country’s executive and judicial branches.
George Abdullah: From resistance in captivity to a global symbol of freedom
But from today on, George Ibrahim Abdullah is no longer just a political activist released from prison; he has become an international symbol of freedom in the land of resistance. He represents a great national value and embodies a national treasure of meaningful principles and concepts of freedom and resistance to oppression.
George Abdullah has fully fulfilled his national and global duty, achieved his highest goal, and recorded a unique experience in this world. Whatever is said and written about him can never do justice to his legacy in Lebanon and the entire world.
The Lebanese government’s lack of kindness to George Abdullah
Lebanese circles believe that the government and officials of this country did not even welcome George Abdullah and did not appear on this national stage, fearing the displeasure of the Americans and the French. The Lebanese people, who had come to Beirut International Airport for long hours under the scorching sun to welcome George Abdullah and were subjected to severe and insulting security measures, did not expect an official ceremony or the presence of Lebanese officials when welcoming George Abdullah, and George Abdullah did not need to see an official figure from his country when he arrived in Beirut.
George Abdullah has remained in the minds and memories of the Lebanese people and all free people of the world for 41 years and does not need the appreciation and gratitude of a government subservient to foreign powers. However, with this behavior, the Lebanese government has proven more than ever that its positions and decisions are dependent on foreigners, and has increased doubts among the Lebanese people about the positions this government takes.