Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi: Egyptian poet believed to have been extradited to UAE
Sources close to the case of Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi, the Egyptian poet and son of the late prominent Islamic scholar, say he was extradited to the UAE from Lebanon on Wednesday over a social media post.
Fears his extradition was imminent were heightened earlier with the arrival in Beirut of a plane owned by RoyalJet, the same Emirati company that rights groups have said wrongfully extradited a Bahraini dissident from Serbia in 2022.
Middle East Eye understands that Qaradawi, an activist from Egypt with Turkish citizenship, had been scheduled to leave at 4.30pm local time, around the same time flight monitors had said the plane would be leaving Lebanon.
However, the plane appears to have taken off two hours earlier than scheduled and landed in the UAE a little before 9pm local time. MEE understands that his lawyers in Lebanon have lost contact with the 54-year-old.
RoyalJet did not immediately respond to MEE’s requests for comment on Wednesday.
Alexis Thiry, legal advisor for the Geneva-based MENA Rights Group, said he had sent a letter to the company on Wednesday raising concerns as the plane approached Lebanon.
UN experts urged Lebanese authorities on Wednesday to reconsider Qaradawi's case, which they described as fast tracked, and reject his extradition, saying they fear he could be subject to torture, ill-treatment or enforced disappearance if he is deported.
Thiry shares these concerns. "We also fear that due to his profile and the fact that he is wanted on political grounds, he will not be granted procedural guarantees including those of a fair trial," he said.
"This fear is reinforced by the lack of independence of the judiciary in the United Arab Emirates."
Questions around extradition
Qaradawi was arrested in Lebanon on 28 December after returning from Syria where he took part in celebrations following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
He had recorded a three-minute video, posted to Twitter, saying he hoped the country’s future wouldn’t be hindered by Arab states including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The UAE and Egypt filed subsequent requests for Qaradawi’s extradition with the Lebanese government acting only on the Emirati warrant.
Haydee Dijkstal, a barrister with 33 Bedford Row Chambers who is acting on behalf of Qaradawi, said from what his family has been able to learn, the UAE's request was solely based on Qaradawi's video post.
She said this raised "serious concerns about the right to freedom of expression under international law because by recording that video, by expressing concern and joy and criticism, that all falls within the protection to the right to free expression under international law".
Read More »Questions remain around how the process unfolded in Qaradawi's case.
Thiry said Qaradawi's representatives in Lebanon told him that the warrant had been circulated by the Arab Interior Ministers Council (AIMC), a security body run by Arab League members which has come under criticism in recent years for failing to shield people wanted over political activities from extradition.
Dijkstal said there had been some information indicating that the AIMC might have been used to make the requests, but there had been no confirmation of this.
Still, she said, the fact that it might have been the way the requests came through has worried Qaradawi's family.
"That is because of the fact that there has been reporting from human rights groups and UN experts who have raised concerns that this network in the region that's been used in order to extradite individuals has been done outside of the regular protections and procedures that countries must follow domestically," she said.
"The fact that it hasn't [been confirmed] is also concerning in itself. Families and individuals who are detained should have all of the information."
Shortly before he was moved to the airport, Dijkstal said Qaradawi spoke to his family, letting them know he would be transported soon and that he had started a hunger strike on Tuesday after the Lebanese government's decision.
She said he told them he was "keeping his spirits high but continuing his hunger strike".
