Al-Qaradawi’s household seeks Lebanese PM’s intervention to stop his deportation to Egypt, fearing dangers to his life.
The household of Egyptian opposition activist Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi has known as on Lebanese authorities to right away launch him, as fears develop that he shall be deported to Egypt, the place he’s needed by the legislation.
Al-Qaradawi’s members of the family issued a press launch on Sunday saying that they’d despatched a letter to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati asking him to intervene within the case of the Egyptian poet and author, who can also be a Turkish citizen and lives along with his household in Istanbul.
“As a household, we belief within the knowledge of the Lebanese management and the dignified individuals of Lebanon,” the press launch mentioned. “Lebanon has at all times been an emblem of the defence of freedoms, and we enchantment to the Lebanese prime minister, within the identify of justice and humanity, to intervene instantly to launch him and guarantee his protected return to his household and three daughters who’re ready for him in Istanbul.”
Al-Qaradawi, the son of the late religious chief of the Muslim Brotherhood Yusuf al-Qaradawi, was arrested on December 28 because of an Egyptian arrest warrant, a Lebanese judicial official quoted by the AFP information company and the household mentioned. He was detained on the Masnaa border crossing after he entered Lebanon from Syria.
Al-Qaradawi had been sentenced by an Egyptian court docket in absentia to 5 years in jail on costs of “opposing the state and inciting terrorism”, the official mentioned.
The household mentioned the ruling was a response to an article revealed by al-Qaradawi in 2012, and warned that Lebanon could be endangering al-Qaradawi’s life if it extradited him to Egypt.
“His extradition to any nation that calls for him endangers his life, particularly contemplating the file of human rights violations in these international locations,” the press launch issued on behalf of al-Qaradawi’s household mentioned.
Al-Qaradawi’s lawyer in Lebanon, Mohammed Sablouh, had beforehand mentioned that his consumer may very well be tortured if he was handed over to Egypt, which is accused by human rights organisations similar to Amnesty Worldwide of repressing political dissidents and committing crimes together with torture “with impunity”.
Al-Qaradawi’s household’s letter is a part of a marketing campaign urging his launch and return to Turkey.
The 53-year-old was a longtime opponent of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown within the nation’s 2011 revolution.
The activist has additionally turn out to be a vocal critic of Egypt’s present chief, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who got here to energy after a bloody coup in 2013 in opposition to elected President Mohamed Morsi, who later died in jail.
