The China Mail - Lebanese militant released after 40 years in French jail

At around 3:40 am (01:30 GMT), a convoy of six vehicles left the Lannemezan penitentiary with lights flashing, AFP journalists saw.

A source close to the case confirmed to AFP that 74-year-old Abdallah had left the prison.

Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris.

The Paris Court of Appeal had ordered his release "effective July 25" on the condition that he leave French territory and never return.

While he had been eligible for release since 1999, his previous requests were denied with the United States -- a civil party to the case -- consistently opposing him leaving prison.

Inmates serving life sentences in France are typically freed after fewer than 30 years.

Once out of prison, Abdallah is set to be transported to the Tarbes airport where a police plane will take him to Roissy for a flight to Beirut, according to a source close to the case.

Abdallah's lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, visited for a final time on Thursday. "He seemed very happy about his upcoming release, even though he knows he is returning to the Middle East in an extremely tough context for Lebanese and Palestinian populations," Chalanset told AFP.

AFP visited Abdallah last week after the court's release decision, accompanying a lawmaker to the detention centre.

The founder of the Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Factions (FARL) -- a long-disbanded Marxist anti-Israel group -- said for more than four decades he had continued to be a "militant with a struggle".

- 'Past symbol' -

After his arrest in 1984, French police discovered submachine guns and transceiver stations in one of his Paris apartments.

The appeals judges also found the length of his detention "disproportionate" to the crimes and given his age.

Abdallah's family said they plan to meet him at Beirut airport's "honour lounge" before heading to their hometown of Kobayat in northern Lebanon where a reception is planned.

C.Smith--ThChM