Watching: The Abdallah Case

Overview

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian communist resistance fighter, is France's longest-serving political prisoner. Incarcerated for 40 years, he remains a symbol. He was suspected of being behind the attacks that sowed chaos in 1980s Paris and was convicted of murdering two diplomats. In the film *The Abdallah Affair*, which Pierre Carles dedicates to him, we discover a deeply troubling story: a country choosing an ideal scapegoat. An incredible piece of fake news and intense pressure exerted by the United States on France are at the root of this extraordinary length of detention. The official media machine went into overdrive, serving a national interest, blind and deaf to all the ambiguities of this case, which this documentary exposes. Georges Abdallah was imprisoned in France for nearly 41 years. Wrongfully. At 74, he managed to leave prison, standing tall, his political convictions intact.