More than 30 Egyptian and international human rights organisations are urging the UK and EU to intervene in the case of Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi, an activist and poet who disappeared in January after being detained in Lebanon and deported to the UAE.
In their letter, the 33 organisations expressed their "deep concern" for al-Qaradawi, who has now been detained and forcibly disappeared in the Gulf country for over 91 days as of Thursday, according to The New Arab's Arabic sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
The rights groups said al-Qaradawi's case "embodies a recurring pattern of transnational repression, whereby states cooperate to silence dissenting voices even outside their own territories," stressing that "what happened to him was not an isolated incident, but rather one of a systematic pattern targeting human rights defenders, writers, and dissidents in the region".
They issued their plea to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and the European commission's Vice-President Kaja Kallas, respectively.
Al-Qaradawi, the son of late Islamic preacher Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, was detained in Lebanon on 28 December shortly after criticising the Egyptian, Saudi and Emirati governments in a video posted on social media.
The activist, an opponent of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government in Egypt, posted the video while he was in Syria celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in front of Damascus’s Umayyad Mosque.
In the clip, he also expressed hopes that the Syrian people will emerge victorious following years of oppression under the Assad regime.
The 53-year-old was detained after entering Lebanon from Syria via the Masnaa border crossing, in response to an Egyptian arrest warrant.
Days later, al-Qaradawi was handed over to the UAE after Lebanese authorities approved Abu Dhabi’s requesting of his extradition, even though he was neither a citizen nor resident of the country.
The extradition happened despite a warning from Amnesty International that he could be subject to forced disappearance, abuse, and torture.
The move sparked outrage among rights groups and activists in the region, as the Gulf state has a track record of torturing dissidents. They also questioned the legality of the move, as Beirut and Abu Dhabi have no extradition treaty between them.
Egypt also put forward a similar request. The deportation to the UAE went forward despite an appeal from al-Qaradawi’s lawyer.
Al-Qaradawi has Egyptian and Turkish citizenship, and has resided in Turkey in recent years with his family.
The organisations say al-Qaradawi's whereabouts remain unknown and that has been denied regular contact with his lawyer and family. The last time he reportedly spoke with relatives was during a one-minute phone call on 20 February, they added.
He is the son of influential Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who had ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, and the brother of Ola al-Qaradawi, who has been previously jailed in Egyptian military prisons.