• Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, imprisoned for 40 years, will be released on July 25.
• The Paris Appeals Court ordered his release on the condition he departs France.
• Abdallah has consistently maintained his innocence regarding the charges he faced.
• The United States has opposed his release on various grounds.
• His release has met with mixed reactions from various political and legal circles.

A French court has ruled in favor of the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese national who has served nearly 40 years of a life sentence in relation to the assassinations of two foreign diplomats. The Paris Appeals Court ordered that Abdallah be released on July 25 under the condition that he leaves France and never returns, according to Le Monde and Reuters.

Abdallah was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for his involvement in the 1982 killings of U.S. military attache Charles R. Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov, along with an attempted murder charge regarding U.S. Consul General Robert Homme. Notably, the U.S. has consistently opposed his release throughout the decades, stating concerns regarding the safety of officials, according to India Times and Middle East Eye.

The release decision has reignited discussions about Abdallah’s status as a political prisoner, with supporters asserting that his prolonged incarceration was politically motivated. Abdallah, who has made numerous requests for release in the past, has described himself as a “fighter” for Palestinian rights rather than a criminal, as reported by Al Jazeera and Dawn.

His brother expressed overwhelming joy over the court decision, claiming that it represented a break from international pressures exerted by Israeli and U.S. entities. Abdallah’s lawyer labeled the release a “judicial victory” and criticized the delay in his freedom, stating it was a "political scandal" that it took so long, according to TRT Global and Anadolu Agency.