Report: Gemayel Follows Up Georges Abdallah's Case

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel is following up the case of Lebanese leftist militant Georges Abdallah, who has been jailed for nearly three decades in France, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Sources close to the party told As Safir newspaper that the Christian leader is following up the case through diplomatic channels based on the “positive” signs that loomed recently.

The newspaper said that Gemayel tackled the matter during his visit to France in January, where he met with French President Francois Hollande.

Abdallah has been eligible for parole since 1999, but seven previous applications were all rejected.

A French court granted Abdallah parole in November on condition he be deported but the interior ministry had yet to issue the deportation order. The court postponed its decision on his release until February 28.

Last month, U.S. Representative Grace Meng urged France not to release him, drawing up a bipartisan letter with around 50 members of Congress calling on France to scrap the possible release.

The letter was handed to Hollande.

The International Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah has accused Paris of being a proxy for the U.S. But French Ambassador Patrice Paoli has denied any U.S. role in the delay to release him.

The campaign dismantled on January 30 a tent it had erected outside the mission after the Lebanese government tasked a ministerial committee with following up the case.