Rights groups demand UAE free missing Turkish-Egyptian poet

CAIRO – More than two dozen human rights organisations on Tuesday demanded the United Arab Emirates immediately reveal the fate of Turkish-Egyptian poet and dissident Abdulrahman Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who has been subjected to enforced disappearance for over 200 days.

Yusuf, 54, was arrested in Lebanon on December 28, 2024, and forcibly extradited to the UAE on January 8 this year, in what Amnesty International and other groups described as a flagrant violation of due process and the principle of non-refoulement.

According to his family, the charges – “spreading fake news” and “disturbing public security” – stem from a social media video in which Yusuf criticised Egyptian, Emirati and Saudi authorities while in Syria. Lebanese authorities approved the extradition request, which came via the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council (AIMC), a League of Arab States body that circulates arrest warrants among member states.

The last known contact came on March 23, when Yusuf’s family was allowed a heavily monitored visit of under 10 minutes at an unrecognised detention site in Abu Dhabi. Since then, neither relatives nor his state-appointed lawyer have received information on his location, legal status or detention conditions.

Rights groups say this amounts to enforced disappearance, prohibited under international law, and raises fears he may face torture or ill-treatment. Amnesty International described the case as part of an “increasingly prevalent pattern of transnational repression,” in which states cooperate to target dissidents beyond their borders.

“Abdulrahman never voluntarily entered the UAE, holds no citizenship or residency there, and has never been convicted in any court,” the statement said, warning that his transfer to a third country sets a dangerous precedent.

The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has requested information from the UAE, but Emirati authorities have yet to respond. UN experts also issued two public appeals earlier this year urging his release and an end to his extradition.

The joint statement, signed by 27 organisations including Amnesty International, the World Organisation Against Torture and PEN International, called on the UAE to release Yusuf immediately, end his enforced disappearance, and grant him access to independent legal counsel, family visits and Turkish consular representatives.

It urged Turkey to step up diplomatic pressure on the UAE to disclose his whereabouts and ensure his protection, and called on Lebanon to acknowledge the illegality of his extradition.

The groups also demanded that the League of Arab States investigate the AIMC’s role in what they allege is politically motivated cross-border repression, and to establish safeguards against abuse of its arrest warrant system.

“States must not weaponise security cooperation to silence peaceful critics,” the statement said.

This is an edited version of the report that was published by Amnesty International on Aug. 12, 2025.