BEIRUT: Around 150 activists from the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth held a sit-in Wednesday in front of the French Embassy in Beirut calling for the release of George Abdullah who has been imprisoned in France for 28 years despite his sentence ending in 1999.

The protesters raised banners and chanted in support of Abdullah, who remains in French custody after entering prison in 1984 on charges of killing Israeli and American military officials.

Activist Mohammad Jammoul spoke in the name of the protesters and said that the French government has been holding Abdullah in arbitrary detention since the end of his sentence in 1999 and has ignored all calls for his release.

Jammoul added that previous Lebanese governments have not addressed Abdullah’s case with France for fear of losing its political support.