/ / Urgent Action: EGYPTIAN-TURKISH POET FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED [UAE 13.25]

EGYPTIAN-TURKISH POET FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED [UAE 13.25]

UA: 13.25 UAE

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Egyptian-Turkish poet, Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi, has been subjected to enforced disappearance since his extradition from Lebanon to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 8, 2025. Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi was arrested by Lebanese security forces on December 28, 2024 at the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. The Lebanese authorities accepted the extradition request by the Emirati authorities on charges of spreading “fake news” and “disturbing public security”, in connection to a video he posted on his social media platforms while in Syria criticizing Egyptian, Emirati, and Saudi Arabian authorities. Concerns for his safety and wellbeing are mounting as his family has been unable to obtain any information about his fate, exact whereabouts or legal status; and he has been denied consular visits by Turkish authorities.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: July 7, 2025

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Step 1

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Remember to send your letter by July 7, 2025.

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Sample Letter

Your Highness,

I write to you to express my grave concern over the enforced disappearance of Egyptian-Turkish poet, Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi. Lebanese security forces arrested him on December 28, 2024 upon his return from a visit to Syria. During a visit to Damascus in December 2024, Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi filmed himself walking around the Umayyad Mosque and criticizing the authorities of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. According to his family and lawyers, this short clip widely shared on social media triggered his arrest, which followed a provisional arrest warrant issued by the General Secretariat of the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council, at the request of the Emirati authorities. The Egyptian authorities also made a separate provisional arrest request.

On January 7, 2025, the Lebanese authorities approved the extradition of Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi to the UAE despite concerns that he would be at risk of human rights violations including arbitrary detention and unfair trial. Since his extradition to the UAE, his family has been trying to locate him without success and have not had any communication with him. Requests for a consular visit by the Turkish authorities have not been granted.

I urge you to immediately disclose the fate and whereabouts of Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi, allow him to communicate with his family and lawyers, ensure he has access to adequate healthcare, and is granted a consular visit from the Turkish authorities. Moreover, as his detention is solely related to the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression, I ask you to immediately release him and allow him to travel to Türkiye.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

Sample Social Post

Egyptian-Turkish poet Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi has been forcibly disappeared since January 8, over social media posts critical of Emirati authorities. @MohamedBinZayed must reveal his fate whereabouts & allow his consular visits from Turkish authorities, pending his release

Tweet to @MohamedBinZayed

Step 2

Send your letter

Mail your letter to the government officials listed below. You can also email, fax, call, or post about them on social media.

Send your letter to:

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates

No postal address for this target

@MohamedBinZayed

and

His Excellency Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba

CC: Embassy of UAE in the United States

3522 International Court, NW, Suite 400,

Washington DC 20008

Contact Webform: https://www.uae-embassy.org/contact#paragraph–109

https://www.uae-embassy.org/contact#paragraph–109

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