France’s envoy to Lebanon Patrice Paoli urged patience Tuesday in the case of the deportation of George Abdallah, a day after delays in the release of the leftist militant sparked protests in front of the French Embassy.
Paoli, speaking to reporters following a meeting with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, urged the Lebanese to wait for the decision by French judiciary on Jan. 28.
Last week, a French court ruled Abdallah be released on condition that he be deported back to Lebanon, but the French Interior Ministry has not yet signed the order to expel him.
A statement released by the International Campaign to Free George Abdallah expressed confidence his homecoming was imminent, citing French reports that Interior Minister Manuel Valls had already signed the deportation order.
Friends, family and supporters of Abdallah geared up to celebrate his arrival in Beirut Monday.
But Abdallah was not released, prompting supporters to rally outside the French Embassy in Beirut, demanding his freedom.
Paoli pointed out the difference between the court’s decision to release Abdallah and that of the French interior ministry with regards to his deportation.
He stressed that Abdallah’s deportation, which lies in the hands of the interior minister, was being mulled at present, adding that a decision will be made by the relevant authorities.
On Monday, the head of the Lebanese Communist party said Abdallah’s deportation had been delayed to Jan. 28. Abdallah had been expected in the country much earlier.
Paoli acknowledged Tuesday that the French court decision to delay Abdallah’s release had provoked an angry reaction among supporters of the 61-year-old.
Mansour discussed with Paoli the delay in Abdallah’s deportation from France to Lebanon.
Paoli said he would convey Mansour’s concerns to Paris.
The prisoner’s brother, Joseph Abdallah, said the only explanation for the delay was that the French judiciary had “succumbed to U.S. pressure.”
Abdallah was arrested in 1984 and later convicted by a French court in the 1982 murders in Paris of Israeli diplomat Yaakov Bar-Simantov and Lt. Col. Charles Ray, an American military attache.
He was also implicated in the attempted assassination of U.S. Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984.
Dozens of relatives and friends of George Abdallah rallied outside the French Embassy in Beirut Monday to protest the delay in his release.
They also briefly blocked the main street leading to the French Embassy and clashed with police after egg- and stone- throwing demonstrators were prevented from storming the mission premises.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati criticized France’s decision and urged Paris to allow the process of Abdallah’s release from prison to proceed.
About a dozen protesters remained Tuesday in the tent they had set up near a Lebanese Army post opposite the lane of the French Embassy in Beirut.
