The family of Egyptian poet and activist Abdul Rahman Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, aged 56, announced his release and departure from prison in the United Arab Emirates, following the presidential pardon granted by Mohamed bin Zayed. His release comes after he was sentenced, on 27 August 2026, to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of AED 200,000 by the Cybercrimes Chamber of the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal.
Background to the case
Alkarama had been following Al-Qaradawi’s case since his arrest in Lebanon, at the Masnaa border crossing, as he was returning from Damascus, where he had taken part in Syrians’ celebrations following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. He had notably published a video there in which he criticised the policies of the Egyptian, Emirati and Saudi authorities.
Alkarama had at the time warned against any measure aimed at handing him over to Egypt or the United Arab Emirates, recalling that Lebanon is a party to the Convention against Torture, whose Article 3 prohibits the surrender of a person to a State where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would be at risk of being subjected to torture. It had also announced its intention to bring the matter before the United Nations Special Procedures.
Nevertheless, on 8 January 2025, the Lebanese authorities forcibly handed Al-Qaradawi over to the United Arab Emirates aboard a private aircraft, despite warnings from human rights organisations, the legal challenges brought before the courts and appeals from his family. This handover constitutes a particularly striking example of transnational repression and political collusion between States.
Enforced disappearance during detention
From the moment he was taken into the custody of the Emirati authorities, contact between Al-Qaradawi and his family and lawyers was almost entirely cut off, with the exception of two family visits authorised in March and August 2025. He thus remained in a situation of enforced disappearance for more than two hundred days, while being arbitrarily detained in conditions of near-isolation from the outside world. According to his family’s testimony, he was subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, deprived of exercise and regular visits, and prevented from keeping his personal belongings and photographs of his children. According to the same testimonies, these conditions led to a significant deterioration in his psychological state during the more than twenty months he spent in detention.
Legal qualification
Alkarama reiterates that the handover of Al-Qaradawi constituted a manifest violation of the principle of non-refoulement, as enshrined in international human rights law, which prohibits the surrender of a person to a State where they risk being subjected to torture or inhuman treatment, or facing an unfair trial. This handover is all the more concerning given that United Nations Special Procedures experts had expressly raised these same concerns in January 2025.
Furthermore, the fact that Al-Qaradawi was detained, for most of his detention, in places unknown to his family and lawyers constitutes enforced disappearance under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, regardless of the fact that this disappearance ended with his release.
Alkarama’s requests
Alkarama considers Al-Qaradawi’s release from prison a positive development, following an international human rights campaign that lasted nearly two years. It nevertheless stresses that the release of a victim of enforced disappearance does not absolve the States concerned of their responsibility for the violations he suffered during his detention. It also calls for guarantees that Al-Qaradawi or other activists will not subsequently face any restrictions or prosecution on account of exercising their right to freedom of expression or peaceful opposition.
It further calls for an independent medical and psychological assessment, in view of the prolonged isolation documented by his family. It calls on the Lebanese authorities to open an independent investigation into the decision to forcibly hand him over in January 2025 and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable. It also calls on the Emirati authorities to open an independent investigation into the conditions of his detention since his handover by Lebanon, including the allegations of enforced disappearance and solitary confinement. Alkarama warns against the recurrence of such politically motivated handovers targeting other opposition figures and activists in the region.
Finally, Alkarama calls on the relevant United Nations mechanisms to continue following up on this case, including by ensuring that Al-Qaradawi’s physical and psychological health is assessed following his release, as the effects of detention may persist beyond its end.