As the enforced disappearance of Egyptian–Turkish poet and political dissident Abdulrahman Youssef Al-Qaradawi continues, the Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF) expresses its deep concern over the passing of 300 days since his disappearance. Al-Qaradawi was arrested in Lebanon on 28 December 2024 and forcibly transferred to the United Arab Emirates on 8 January 2025, in flagrant violation of the principle of non-refoulement and of fundamental fair trial guarantees.
The EHRF reiterates its call issued on 5 August 2025, joined by 28 human rights organizations, as well as the open appeal of 2 January 2025, endorsed by over 500 public figures and national and international organizations, demanding the immediate disclosure of his whereabouts, guarantees for his physical and psychological safety, and unhindered communication with his family and legal counsel.
The UAE authorities have failed to disclose his place of detention or legal status, while his family and lawyers remain denied any means of contact. On 24 August 2025, his family was allowed a brief visit lasting less than ten minutes inside a security facility. The visit took place under strict surveillance, during which the family was not permitted to speak freely or inquire about his health or legal situation. According to his relatives, Al-Qaradawi appeared exhausted and spoke with great caution for fear of being monitored. Since that visit, all contact has been cut off, rendering him a victim of enforced disappearance under international law.
Prolonged incommunicado detention places Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi at real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and underscores the UAE authorities’ involvement in grave human rights violations. The Lebanese authorities also bear legal and moral responsibility for his unlawful deportation, which was carried out at the request of the UAE on the basis of a warrant issued by the Council of Arab Interior Ministers.
The case of Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi has become a symbol of the growing pattern of transnational repression, whereby authoritarian governments cooperate to target dissidents beyond their borders, exploiting regional security agreements to justify renditions and disappearances. It also marks the first known instance of a citizen being extradited to a third country with which he has no nationality, residency, or legal connection.
A group of UN Special Procedures mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, issued a joint statement on 8 January 2025 warning Lebanese authorities against extraditing Al-Qaradawi to the UAE. They stressed that such a transfer would expose him to a high risk of torture, enforced disappearance, and unfair trial, and urged Lebanon to halt the extradition immediately and ensure his right to due process and effective asylum procedures. In March 2025, the experts released another statement calling for the immediate disclosure of his fate and whereabouts, emphasizing that his continued incommunicado detention violates international law and raises serious concerns for his safety.
Furthermore, the European Parliament’s 2025 report on the human rights situation in Egypt and the UAE cited the case of Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi as a prominent example of transnational repression, while the EU Special Representative for Human Rights highlighted his case in October 2025 as one requiring urgent international action.
The Egyptian Human Rights Forum calls on the UAE authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Abdulrahman Youssef Al-Qaradawi, ensure his physical and psychological safety, and release him unconditionally. It also urges the Lebanese authorities to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the unlawful deportation carried out in January 2025.
The EHRF further calls on the European Union and the United Nations, particularly the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the Special Rapporteur on Torture, to intensify pressure on the UAE and Lebanese governments to immediately reveal his fate, hold those responsible accountable, and end the use of regional security cooperation as a tool to silence dissent and suppress freedom of expression across the region.
