U.S. pushed to keep Lebanese militant in French prison after 40 years, letter shows

By John Irish

PARIS (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice vigorously opposed at a French court hearing in December the release of a Lebanese militant jailed for attacks on American and Israeli diplomats in France more than 40 years ago, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigade (LARB), Georges Ibrahim Abdallah was sentenced to life in 1987 for his role in the 1982 murders in Paris of U.S. military attache Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov, and the attempted murder of U.S. Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984.

"The United States of America submits that sending Mr Abdallah to Lebanon, and specifically to his hometown would be a destabilising influence in an already volatile region and would give rise to severe public disorder," the letter dated Dec. 16, just three days before an appeals court hearing in Paris, said.

Requests for his release have been rejected and annulled eight times, including in 2003, 2012 and 2014, but a Paris court in November granted his release on condition that he leaves France and not return.

It said that Abdallah, now 73 and a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause, had been irreproachable in prison and posed "no serious risk to renew terrorism acts."

The office of France's anti-terrorism prosecutor appealed

the decision, automatically keeping him in prison. The appeals hearing took place on Dec. 19 and judges are due to give their ruling on Feb. 20.

The United States has always opposed his release despite Lebanese authorities requesting he be freed - leaving Paris caught in the middle with diplomats saying it did not want to cross Washington on the issue.

The case has often been brought up by officials in Beirut, including by former Lebanese President Michel Aoun, although it is not likely to be high up on the agenda when President Emmanuel Macron travels to Lebanon on Friday.

In its letter the Department of Justice repeated past assertions that his release would pose a threat to the safety of U.S. diplomats.

It also used Abdallah's previous comments that he would return to his hometown Qobayyat on the Lebanese-Syrian border as a reason not to release him given the recent conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

It also said that he had consistently refused to renounce his resistance to any "occupation" of Lebanon and "that he was and is at war and therefore violence against innocent victims in this case was and is justified."

It added that his "early" release did not serve U.S., French or Lebanese interests.

Abdallah's lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset said the accusations were ridiculous, pointing out that the LARB no longer existed and no acts had been carried out by it in Europe or the United States since 1984.

He added that as a communist activist Abdallah it was his legitimate right to resist any occupation.

"This is a right recognised by all international conventions," Chalanset told Reuters. "The letter from the United States to the French judges is an intrusion by a state that dictates its orders to a state that it considers a vassal, it is unacceptable," he told Reuters.

Neither the U.S. State Department or Justice Department responded to requests for comment. France's anti-terrorism prosecutor declined to comment on the letter, but said it had outlined its justifications to keep Abdallah in prison during the hearing.

(Additional reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Toby Chopra)