Pakistan, July 25 -- LANNEMEZAN - Lebanese pro-Palestinian militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah has been released from a French prison after serving more than 40 years for the murder of two diplomats. A convoy of six vehicles left Lannemezan prison early Friday morning, taking the 74-year-old to begin his deportation process to Lebanon. His release comes after decades of legal battles and international pressure.

Abdallah was arrested in 1984 and sentenced to life in 1987 for his role in the killings of US military attache Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris. He had been eligible for parole since 1999, but US opposition repeatedly blocked his release. The Paris Court of Appeal finally approved his freedom on the condi...