Prosecutor Asks 10-Year Term for Abdallah

A government prosecutor today recommended a prison sentence of no more than 10 years for Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese militant accused of complicity in the assassinations of American and Israeli diplomats in Paris.

“It’s up to justice to render a decision in the interest of everyone,” prosecutor Pierre Baechlin said in his closing argument. “One must know how to adapt to events.”

Baechlin referred to “blind terrorism” in the streets of Paris and to France’s hostages in Lebanon but did not link the two issues to Abdallah.

If convicted, the maximum penalty for Abdallah, 35, is life in prison. A verdict is expected Saturday.

Crowds Express Astonishment

The hushed crowds in the Justice Ministry courtroom expressed astonishment at the recommended sentence.

In September, 11 people were killed and more than 150 injured in a series of bombings in Paris. A group in Lebanon claiming responsibility demanded the release of the defendant and two other prisoners.

The newspaper Le Matin reported today, without citing sources, that the French government had agreed to release Abdallah by the end of 1987 as part of a deal to put an end to the Paris bombings.

A Justice Ministry official refused comment on the report.

Lawyer Stresses Justice

Georges Kiejman, a lawyer representing the United States as a civil party in the case, said the court should not let the desire to avoid new terrorist attacks outweigh justice.

“When for the first time an important terrorist is appearing before the court, it is not for you to render service to the state,” Kiejman told the seven-judge panel. “Your mission is to render justice, not to render services.”

Kiejman said by finding Abdallah guilty, the court would bring to an end “this belief of certain terrorists that France has become a sanctuary.”

Abdallah is charged with complicity in the Jan. 18, 1982, murder of Lt. Col. Robert Ray, a deputy U.S. military attache, and in the April 3, 1982, killing of Yacov Barsimantov, an Israeli diplomat.

Abdallah also is charged with complicity in the March 26, 1984, attempt to murder Robert O. Homme, then U.S. consul-general in Strasbourg.