To:

• Right Honourable David Lammy, UK Foreign Secretary

• Her Excellency Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union

Dear Esteemed Officials,

We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our deep concern and call for your urgent intervention regarding the ongoing detention of renowned poet and democratic advocate Abdulrahman Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who was forcibly extradited and has been in enforced disappearance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since January 8, 2025.

For over 90 days, Abdulrahman has been subjected to enforced disappearance, prompting a statement from United Nations human rights experts on March 5, 2025, calling on the UAE to disclose his whereabouts. The experts warned that "our worst fears that Mr. Al-Qaradawi would face grave human rights violations if he was extradited to the UAE appear to have been justified," recalling their prior appeal urging Lebanon not to comply with the extradition request.

Abdulrahman’s case involves transnational repression, where states collaborate to silence dissent beyond their borders. This is not an isolated incident but part of a broader issue affecting human rights defenders, activists, and writers in the region.

On December 28, 2024, Lebanese security forces arrested Abdulrahman following an extradition request from the UAE, citing charges of "spreading false information, disturbing public security, and inciting unrest." These allegations stem from a video he posted online while in Syria, where he expressed critical views of Egyptian, Emirati, and Saudi authorities. His lawyer in Lebanon reviewed the request, but following the Lebanese government's decision to extradite him to the UAE, Abdulrahman was denied the opportunity to defend himself and challenge the decision. 

On January 8, 2025, he was transferred by private jet to the UAE, where he was immediately detained and forcibly disappeared. His location remains undisclosed, and he has been deprived of regular access to his family. On February 20, Abdulrahman was allowed to place a one-minute phone call to his family. A government-appointed lawyer, whom he did not choose, has been assigned to his case, while his international legal representatives have been unable to communicate with him.

The extradition and detention of Abdulrahman Yusuf Al-Qaradawi violate international human rights protections, including the ICCPR (freedom of expression and protection from arbitrary detention), and the CAT (prohibition of extradition to countries where torture is a risk). The UAE’s actions blatantly disregard its pledges and commitments. 

Despite the lack of transparency and clarity regarding his detention conditions and whereabouts, the UAE is now reportedly initiating legal proceedings for spreading rumours and cyber crimes.  However, no official charges have been presented, and there are no guarantees of due process or a fair trial.

The UAE’s deepening trade and diplomatic ties with the UK and EU — whether through the UK-UAE Sovereign Investment Partnership or the EU-UAE Cooperation Agreement —carry with them a responsibility to uphold fundamental values.

These partnerships are not solely economic in nature; they reflect shared commitments to justice, transparency, and human rights. Silence, in this case, risks signaling that these principles are secondary to strategic interests, setting a troubling precedent that could embolden further transnational repression.

When individuals can be forcibly disappeared and subjected to arbitrary detention and deprived of fair trial guarantees without consequence, the integrity of international human rights protections is called into question. Urgent diplomatic action is needed to ensure Abdulrahman’s fundamental rights are upheld and that he is safely reunited with his family.

Given the seriousness of this case, we respectfully urge your immediate intervention to:

1. Demand the disclosure of  Abdulrahman’s whereabouts, conditions of detention, well-being and legal status.

2. Ensure access to legal representation by facilitating regular communication between Abdulrahman and his chosen international legal counsel and family.

3. Seek assurances of his well-being, including regular consular visits from the Turkish embassy, as he holds Turkish citizenship.

4. Guarantee due process by ensuring transparency in legal proceedings, fair trial protections, and the right of all relevant parties to testify.

5. Call for his immediate and unconditional release so he may return safely to Turkey, where he resides with his daughters. 

We urge you to utilise diplomatic actions and every available mechanism, public and private pressure, trade and diplomatic leverage, and coordination with international partners to secure Abdulrahman’s immediate release.

Your support in this matter will reaffirm a commitment to justice and the rule of law, and it will determine whether transnational repression is confronted or allowed to spread unchecked.

Signatories: 

1. Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR)

2. Amnesty International

3. Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-violence Studies 

4. Arab Center for Law and Society Studies (ACLSS)

5. Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (CCLS)

6. Democratic Diwan

7. Egyptian Coordination of Rights and Freedoms

8. Egyptian Front for Human Rights

9. Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF)

10. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)

11. EgyptWide for Human Rights

12. Emirates detainees advocacy center - EDAC

13. EuroMed Rights (EMR)

14. European Saudi Organization for Human Rights

15. FairSquare

16. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

17. Haqohom 

18. HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement

19. Human Right Watch (HRW)

20. Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF) | 

21. MENA Rights Group

22. Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)

23. Najda for Human Rights

24. Palestinian Jurists Association

25. PEN International

26. People in Need (PIN)

27. REDWORD for Human Rights & Freedom of Expression

28. Refugees platform in Egypt 

29. Sinai Foundation for Human Rights

30. Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy ( TIMEP)

31. The Legal Agenda

32. Unity For Democracy (UFD). 

33. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

34. The Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP)