The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken Egyptian poet and dissident Abdul Rahman Yusuf Al Qaradawi into custody following his extradition from Lebanon.
Abdul Rahman is accused of involvement in activities designed to incite turmoil and threaten public security.
According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on Thursday, January 9, the extradition was carried out “based on a request for temporary detention issued against him by the General Secretariat of the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council – Criminal Investigation and Data Bureau, at the request of the competent authorities in the UAE.”
The UAE reiterated its firm stance against individuals it claims threaten national security and stability, vowing to pursue all necessary legal measures against them.
Abdul Rahman, a 55-year-old dual Egyptian-Turkish national, is the son of prominent Egyptian preacher Yusuf Al Qaradawi, who held Qatari citizenship.
He was arrested in Lebanon on December 28, 2024, after returning from Syria, where he had attended events marking the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.
Before his arrest, Abdul Rahman posted a three-minute video on X from Damascus’ Umayyad Mosque. In the video, he expressed hope for the Syrian people’s triumph after years of hardship and criticized the governments of the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
Both the UAE and Egypt had requested his extradition. On Tuesday, January 7, the Lebanese Cabinet approved his extradition to the UAE.
