UN urged to investigate Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi’s detention as family makes contact

The family of detained poet and activist Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi has made contact with him for the second time since his detention.

This came as prominent UK human rights lawyer Rodney Dixon, representing the family, filed a complaint with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, urging an investigation and calling for his release.

On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that the 54-year-old political dissident’s family were granted a second visit by Emirati authorities on Monday, after a brief 10-minute visit in March.

Relatives have still not been provided with details of where al-Qaradawi is being held- as their last contact with him took place at a non-custodial facility.

Speaking to The New Arab, Dixon said that "Abdulrahman’s family were allowed a very brief and monitored visit on 24th August in Abu Dhabi."

He added: "The visit occurred at a non-custodial facility, lasted around ten minutes, and authorities withheld any information about his exact whereabouts from his family or the government assigned lawyer."

Dixon has also called on the UN Working Group to officially declare al-Qaradawi’s detention arbitrary, a move that could pressure the UAE government to review his case and increase transparency surrounding it.

"Our submission sets out the extensive evidence that Abdulrahman’s detention is unlawful and arbitrary. The legal grounds are clear: he’s been held without charge in solitary confinement, without regular family access and visits, and targeted for exercising his right to free expression," he told TNA.

"It also details how he’s been held in an undisclosed location for over 233 days without access to his chosen lawyer – a clear breach of both Emirati and international law."

He continued: "We are urging the Working Group to investigate immediately, declare his detention unlawful, and call for his release and his safe return to his family. Each day he remains held in secret, the risk to his health and safety grows."

Al-Qaradawi, the son of the late prominent Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, was handed over to the United Arab Emirates by Lebanese authorities after stopping in Lebanon while returning from a visit to Damascus.

He had a history of speaking out against authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and was detained in Lebanon last December following a video he recorded at the Umayyad Mosque in the Syrian capital, in which he criticised the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt.

Lebanon extradited him to the UAE on 8 January last year even though he was not a citizen or resident of the country, and despite the protests of right groups worldwide.

At the time Amnesty International said that his extradition constituted "a flagrant breach of the principle of non-refoulement, which under international human rights law guarantees that no one is to be returned to a country where he or she would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm."

UN special rapporteurs warned that in the Emirates he was at risk of facing "torture, ill-treatment or enforced disappearance and other grave human rights violations".

His family has repeatedly called for his release and urged Emirati officials to provide updated information on his condition and well-being.

In recent updates, the UAE government has stated that al-Qaradawi is in good health and undergoes regular medical check-ups.

“The family hopes this visit marks a first step toward guaranteeing Abdulrahman’s right to regular family visitation and confidential access to his chosen legal counsel," Dixon said.

"We continue to call on the UAE to respect well-established international standards and release Abdulrahman immediately and unconditionally."