Amnesty Worldwide warns that al-Qaradawi might be liable to human rights violations if extradited to the UAE.
Lebanon’s authorities has determined to extradite Egyptian opposition activist Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), regardless of warnings that he might be topic to ill-treatment there.
The workplace of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati introduced on Tuesday that the nation is ready to extradite the son of the late Muslim Brotherhood cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi to the UAE after the cupboard voted in favour.
The 53-year-old was arrested in Lebanon on December 28, shortly after coming back from Syria, the place he had travelled after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was toppled by opposition fighters.
Earlier than his arrest, the activist recorded a video of himself on the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Within the video, he stated he hopes the Syrian individuals will emerge victorious after a tumultuous time. He additionally criticised the authorities of the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The UAE and Egypt have each filed requests for his extradition.
The Lebanese authorities’s choice on Tuesday comes hours after Amnesty Worldwide referred to as on authorities to urgently reject the requests for extradition to each Egypt and the UAE.
“Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi’s arbitrary detention got here after he made feedback essential of the Emirati, Saudi Arabian and Egyptian authorities and the requests for his extradition are believed to be primarily based on the authentic train of his proper to freedom of expression,” stated the worldwide rights organisation’s deputy director for the Center East and North Africa, Sara Hashash.
“Criticising the authorities shouldn’t be against the law. If returned to Egypt, Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi can be at actual danger of enforced disappearance, torture and different ill-treatment, and unfair trial resulting in extended unjust imprisonment. He would even be liable to arbitrary detention and different human rights violations if he’s returned to the UAE.”
Hashash stated that forcibly extraditing al-Qaradawi to a rustic the place he’s more likely to face persecution can be a “flagrant breach of the precept of nonrefoulement underneath worldwide regulation” and referred to as the case a “essential check of the Lebanese authorities’ dedication to the precise to freedom of expression”.
Al-Qaradawi’s lawyer stated he would file an pressing enchantment to dam his extradition on Wednesday morning, the Reuters information company reported.
Al-Qaradawi is also a Turkish citizen and lives together with his household in Istanbul.
The activist was a longtime critic of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and has additionally criticised present chief President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who got here to energy after a coup in 2013.
His sister, Ola Al-Qaradawi, has spent 4 years arbitrarily detained in Egypt on what Amnesty branded “bogus terrorism-related prices”.
