On 25 March 2020, French Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet announced that a decision had been made by the government, in view of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, to release several thousand prisoners in advance of the end of their sentences.
Since then, many voices have been raised once more to demand the release of Georges Abdallah: we no longer count the letters addressed in this regard to the Minister by many collectives and support organizations nationally and internationally as well as the appeals by parliamentarians and elected officials who are increasingly active in this struggle.
And yet it is clear that this time, once again, despite the very exceptional context of the growing threat and the urgency of action, that the refusal to accept these appeals is again expressed through the deafening and criminal silence of the political and judicial authorities that are fully responsible and guilty of exposing Georges Abdallah to the threat of the coronavirus.
This time again, it seems, once more there is no question of freeing Abdallah! No question of releaseing Georges Abdallah for whom for over 21 years now, “the request for release is not accepted!”
No question of freeing Abdallah! While Georges Abdallah saw his mandatory sentence completed in 1999 and he has been eligible for release for over 20 years.
No question of freeing Abdallah! While Georges Abdallah, aged 69, is today one of the oldest political prisoners in Europe after 36 years of captivity.
And yet, if there is indeed a state of emergency that must be declared today, it is that of freeing Georges Abdallah!
Faced with the denial still reiterated by the authorities rather than the legitimate release of Georges Abdallah, we, the signatories of this appeal, once again demand the release of this resistance fighter and urge increased pressure to change the balance of power which alone will make these officials bend – as Georges Abdallah already pointed out when, in October 2019, he already declared: “It is not enough that the state of Lebanon asks for my release, it remains necessary to establish a real power struggle to make the representatives of French imperialism understand that my incarceration is starting to weigh more heavily than any possible “threats” inherent in my release!”
Let us hear as widely as possible, every day and everywhere, the call of Georges Abdallah and with him, of all political prisoners, and multiply all initiatives, in the diversity of our expressions, to demand his immediate release, here and now!
Let a thousand initiatives flourish!
It is together and only together that we will win!
Initial signatories: To add your name, email campagne.unitaire.gabdallah@gmail.com
Unified campaign for the release of Georges Abdallah, ACTA – média autonome et partisan, Action antifa NP2C, National Association of Communists (ANC), International Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat, CAPJPO-EuroPalestine, Cases Rebelles, Collectif “Bassin minier” for the liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Collective Against Police Abuse (CLAP33), Collective in support of the Palestinian resistance (CSRP59), Collective Jaunes Etc33, Collective Libérez Georges 33, Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Collective for the liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (CLGIA), Collective for the liberation of Georges Abdallah 65, Collective 69 to support the Palestinian people, Committee of action and support for the struggles of the Moroccan people, Committee of international support for the people’s war in India, Committee “Liberez-les!”(59-62), Front Uni des Immigrations et des Quartiers Populaires (F.U.I.Q.P), G.R.C, International Solidarity Movement -France (ISM-France), Jeunes révolutionnaires, Belgian Call for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah, le Cri rouge pour la libération des prisonniers révolutionnaires, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Nouveau parti anticapitaliste (N.P.A), OCML Voie Prolétarienne, Orchestre Poétique d’Avant-guerre (O.P.A), Parti des Indigènes de la République (P.I.R), Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine Belgium, Plateforme des prisonniers politiques en Turquie et au Kurdistan, Secours Rouge Lille, Soccorso Rosso Proletario Italia, Solidarité Georges Abdallah Lille, Union Juive Française pour la Paix (U.J.F.P), International Committee for Political Prisoners London, Anti Internment Group London