Thousands of people rallied in the German for FREEDOM

[Anthea]

France releases Georges Abdallah

after 40 years in prison

Over the years, leftist MPs and human rights organizations, such as the Human Rights League (LDH) and even the French intelligence chief, have called for his release

A French court ordered on Friday the release of Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese revolutionary imprisoned in France, who has been detained for 40 years.

The court ruled that Abdallah, who was first arrested in 1984 and convicted in 1987, would be freed on December 6, provided that he leave France.

It is worth noting that French "anti-terrorism" prosecutors announced they would appeal the decision.

"In a decision dated today, the court granted Georges Ibrahim Abdallah conditional release from December 6, subject to the condition that he leaves French territory and not appear there again," the prosecutors stated.

The longest-held prisoner in Europe

Abdallah, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has so far served 40 years in prison, which makes him the longest-held prisoner in Europe.

He founded the Marxist-Leninist Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), which claimed responsibility for four attacks in France during the 1980s.

The Lebanese revolutionary was accused of taking part in the assassination of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in 1982 and was sentenced on these accusations.

Abdallah never responded to the list of accusations and considered that the French judicial system was "despicably" taking the resistance action out of context.

At his trial for the alleged killing of the diplomats, Abdallah was handed a life sentence—significantly harsher than the 10 years sought by prosecutors. His lawyer, Jacques Verges, called the sentence a "declaration of war."

Now 73, Abdallah maintains that he is a "fighter" advocating for Palestinian rights, not a "criminal". This marks his 11th attempt at securing parole.

He became eligible for parole in 1999, but all previous applications were denied, except in 2013, when his release was conditioned on expulsion from France.

However, then-Interior Minister Manuel Valls refused to implement the order, keeping Abdallah in prison.

US interference in Abdallah's case

The United States has also consistently opposed Abdallah's release, while Lebanese authorities have repeatedly called for his freedom.

A Wikileaks document about former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's leaked emails revealed that between January 10-14, 2023, she sent an email to former French Minister of Foreign Laurent Fabius, saying that “although the French Government has no legal authority to overturn the Court of Appeal’s January 10 decision, we hope French officials might find another basis to challenge the decision’s legality."

Unlike previous rulings, the court’s latest decision does not require government authorization, Abdallah's lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset told AFP, describing the outcome as "a legal and a political victory."

Over the years, leftist MPs and human rights organizations, such as the Human Rights League (LDH) and even the French intelligence chief have been calling for his release.

Abdallah’s case has garnered significant support from leftist and communist circles in France. Last month, Annie Ernaux, the 2022 Nobel Prize laureate in literature, condemned that his prolonged detention "shamed France", in an article published by the communist newspaper L’Humanité.
Georges Abdallah: Prisoners mirror resistance of Palestinian people

The Lebanese revolutionary sent a message on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners' Day on April 20, affirming that celebrating this day aims above all to "confirm our duties toward the prisoners, loudly and clearly," as well as to "include their liberation in the general dynamic of our ongoing struggles."

At the time, Abdallah said that this day also aims to "encourage the lively revolutionary forces and their resisting vanguards to take all necessary measures to practically express our definite determination to liberate our comrades from the grips of their jailers."

He stressed that thousands of prisoners who have been imprisoned for many years, and some for several decades, "reflect today, more than ever, the resistance of the Palestinian people in its various forms" against the Israeli occupation.

Additionally, Abdallah emphasized that the current Israeli government, "more than any previous government, cannot but intensify repression and try to expand the destruction of everything Palestinian," especially anyone who joins the collective will of the Resistance

He pointed out that the heroes of the revolutionary struggle, especially those who embodied the collective will of the Resistance (referring to the prisoners), are "the preferred targets of extermination policies that fascists from all spectra rush to implement, especially as the [ongoung] genocide makes it easy to do so."

In this context, Abdallah called on international movements in solidarity with the Palestinians to take this reality into account, explaining that we are "dealing with a genocide unfolding in front of everyone, not in the hidden corners of secret [detention] camps," which is being witnessed by hundreds of millions of people around the world for the first time in human history.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... 0-years-in

Abdullah Öcalan has spent 25 years in prison and has had no contact with the outside world therefore is unable to advise

Georges Abdallah has spent 40 years in prison and not been in isolation and is well aware of what is happening worldwise

[Anthea]

Kurds are ready for an honorable solution

Turkey knows nothing about honor

Thousands of people rallied in the German city of Cologne on Saturday demanding freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question

There is no Kurdish question:

The Kurdish homeland was divided against the wishes of the Kurdish population, Kurds now live in Turkish Occupied Northern Kurdistan

There is a similarity to Palestinians living in Israeli Occupied Palestine

Both Israel and Turkey have spent many years destroying the lives and the cultures of the Kurds and the Palestinians and look down on them as sub-human with no right to their respective homelands

The demonstration in Cologne under the slogan ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question’ in the scope of the international campaign ‘Freedom for Öcalan - A Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’, which was launched in October 2023 and recently joined by 69 Nobel Prize winners worldwide.

The participants made an urgent appeal for the release of Abdullah Öcalan and the resumption of a dialogue process to resolve the decades-long conflict in Kurdistan through peace negotiations.

Should be "Freedom For Kurdistan"

The rally started with a moment of silence for the Martyrs of Kurdistan and the world revolution and the anthem ‘Ey Raqip’, followed by speeches by Zübeyde Zümrüt and Engin Sever, Co-chairs of KCDK-E (European Democratic Societies Congress), and Ayten Kaplan, representative of TJK-E (Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe).

A written message by the KJK (Kurdistan Women's Union) Coordination said: “Now is the time to succeed in the unceasing struggle of our people and martyrs for a Free Kurdistan and a Free Leader. To this end, history expects us more than ever to lead in struggle, work, organisation, action and labour. We greet you with our most sincere love and loyalty with our belief that you will enlarge the struggle you have carried out until now.”

Weisweid: We demand justice and human rights for Mr Öcalan

Speaking after, MAF-DAD Co-Chair Heike Geisweid said, “We gathered here today to protest against the inhumane isolation of Mr Abdullah Öcalan. This situation is not only contrary to international standards, but also violates Mr Öcalan's basic human rights on a daily basis. Since 15 February 1999, Mr. Öcalan has been held in the F-Type High Security Prison on Imrali Island and has been subjected to a system of isolation and torture rarely seen in the world.

İmralı Island and the prison have been placed in a ‘crisis situation’ with special restrictions since 16 February 1999. This crisis situation can only be declared regionally and temporarily in extraordinary circumstances such as natural disasters, war or earthquakes. However, this ‘crisis situation’ was legalised by regulations after July 2016.

From 27 July 2011 until the coup attempt in 2016, the weekly visit requests of Mr Öcalan's lawyers were rejected on various fabricated grounds. The visits could not take place on allegations of unfavourable weather conditions and technical defect of the coaster going to the island.

Immediately after the declaration of the state of emergency in 2016, an execution judge in Bursa took the first decision to ban lawyer visits in İmralı Prison. After 15 July 2016, this ban was renewed every six months under the pretext of the state of emergency.

In Mr Öcalan's case, the ‘Right to Hope’ has also been de facto abolished. In a judgement delivered in March 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Turkey had violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment - by imposing an irrevocable life sentence on Abdullah Öcalan.

As lawyers, we are well aware of the political and social implications of this situation. Because Mr Öcalan is not just a political prisoner; his case goes beyond individual destiny. He is a symbol of the Kurdish people's decades-long struggle for freedom, self-determination and justice.

Exactly: Öcalan was followed because he promised a FREE KURDISTAN, thousands of people died fighting for FREEDOM

Together with our colleagues around the world, we call on the international community not to turn a blind eye to this situation. It is shameful that Western states and international organisations remain silent on this unlawful and inhumane situation.

We call on the European Union, the United Nations and all human rights organisations to finally take a clear stand and put pressure on the Turkish government to end this inhumane practice. It is time for Mr Öcalan to have his fundamental rights restored.

We demand the immediate lifting of the ban on meetings with his lawyers and regular visits to İmralı.

We demand justice and human rights for Mr Öcalan

Öcalan is not the longest serving political prisoner in Turkey nor is he the longest serving prisoner in Europe

In my valued opinion it would be far better if Kurds protested for a FREE KURDISTAN

To gain international support Kurds need a

UNIQUE SELLING POINT

Kurds unique selling point is that they are:

The Largest Nation in the World
Without a Country of Their Own