A month ago, a team of independent human rights specialists voiced serious concern regarding the insufficient information on the whereabouts and well-being and status of poet and activist Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi after his extradition from Lebanon to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 8 January 2025.
Our worst fears that Mr. Al-Qaradawi would be subjected to serious human rights abuses if extradited to the UAE, seem to have been vindicated,” the experts said, recalling an earlier statement calling on Lebanon not to extradite him to Egypt or the UAE.
The national security related offense for which Mr. Al Qaradawi was extradited seems to be founded exclusively on the statements made in one of his social media posted videos during his Syria visit when he wished for the future of Syria not to be constrained by the interference of foreign States such as the UAE.
“Exercising the right to freedom of expression, political comment or criticism is not a crime,” the experts added. “Equating political criticism with threats to State security or terrorism is an attack on freedom of expression, with troubling implications for human rights defenders and political activists,” the experts added.
Ever since his extradition to the UAE, Al-Qaradawi is said to have had no access to his family and has been refused legal representation. His status and whereabouts remain unknown.
“The authorities must urgently affirm his deprivation of liberty, his health situation, reveal the whereabouts and circumstances of his detention and guarantee his constitutional right to talk to his family and lawyers,”
they stated.
“Until now, we know of no formal legal accusation raised against him by the UAE authorities,”
said the experts.
They were also worried that an extradition treaty between Egypt and the UAE could have Mr. Al-Qaradawi extradited from the UAE to Egypt again. An Egyptian court sentenced him in absentia to two three-year prison terms on charges of spreading false information and news and insulting the judiciary.
“Mr. Al-Qaradawi should be allowed consular visits from the Turkish authorities and allowed to return to Türkiye, where he is a citizen, and where he can be guaranteed safety and legal protection,”
they said.
The specialists were alarmed by the judicial process culminating in the arrest and extradition of Al-Qaradawi to the UAE on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council (AIMC) of the League of Arab States (LAS).
It is clear that this procedure and the designation of certain individuals as “terrorists” under it, is politically motivated and not based on strict legal criteria and is being misused by some States to silence critics, close down dissent, and pursue activists abroad,” they stated.