French court postpones decision on freeing Georges Abdallah

A French court on Thursday postponed a much-awaited decision on freeing pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, jailed 40 years ago for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats.

The Paris appeals court, which had been scheduled to deliver its verdict on Thursday, said it needed more time and would now revisit the case on June 19.

Abdallah, 73, was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the murders of U.S. military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov.

The United States, a civil party to the case, has consistently opposed his release but Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said he should be freed from jail.

In November, a French court ordered his release conditional on Abdallah, first detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987 over the murders, leaving France.

But France's anti-terror prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision which was consequently suspended.

Abdallah has always insisted he is a "fighter" who battled for the rights of Palestinians and not a "criminal". This was his 11th bid for release.

The appeals court said Thursday the delay was prompted by the unresolved question of whether Abdallah had proof that he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs, something he has consistently refused to do.

His lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, called the court's motive "judicial pettiness".

He said imprisoned members of other extremist groups active in the 1970s and 80s -- including "political prisoners" belonging to French group Action Directe, or Corsican and Basque extremists -- had all been set free.

He added the court's stance risked creating a "de facto life imprisonment".

Abdallah is one of the longest serving prisoners in France -- most convicts serving life sentences are freed after less than 30 years.

Several hundred people demonstrated on Thursday in Toulouse, around 100 kilometers (65 miles) from the Abdallah's prison, demanding his release.

Police however banned any such protests in the Paris region, saying they feared a disturbance to public order because of "a tense social and international context".

Abdallah still enjoys some support from public figures in France, including left-wing deputies and Nobel prize-winning author Annie Ernaux, but has mostly been forgotten by the general public.