Appeal for Urgent Action The case of Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi, Poet and Political activist
Appeal for Urgent Action
The case of Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi, Poet and Political activist
The Honorable,
The Special Rapporteur on torture,
The Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, and
The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
We, the undersigned organizations, call on you to take urgent action to prevent the extradition of the Egyptian poet and activist Abdulrahman Youssef Al-Qaradawi to the Egyptian authorities by the Lebanese authorities. Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi was arrested on Saturday, December 28, 2024, upon his arrival in Lebanon from Syria, based on an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) at the request of the Egyptian authorities.
The case of Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi is a case of the right to freedom of expression, a fundamental human right. On December 30, 2017, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced him in absentia to three years in prison with hard labor, in a case that brought him together with 23 defendants, all of whom were either politicians, media professionals, or political activists[i], for expressing their opinions through publication or statements on television and radio channels and social media websites[ii].
Dear Sir/Madam, the truth of the matter is that the INTERPOL warrant for the arrest of Mr. Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi falls within the efforts of the Egyptian authorities persecuting its political opponents outside the country, after suppressing all dissent within Egypt, to silence any voice or opinion critical of its policies and practices. We are certain that handing Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi over to Egypt exposes him to the risk of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and puts his life and freedom at grave risk.
Based on the above, we call on you to demand that the Lebanese authorities not agree to the Egyptian authorities’ request to hand over Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Qaradawi and should be allowed to travel to his country of residence, Turkey, of which he is a citizen. We stress that his extradition in light of these great risks would constitute a flagrant violation of the obligations of the Lebanese state, as it is a State Party to the International Convention against Torture, which stipulates in the first paragraph of Article 3 that “No State Party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture” This also clearly violates Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Dear Sir/Madam, recognizing the important role of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) in combating organized crime and transnational crime, as it is at the heart of the international system for combating crime, we call on you to address INTERPOL to review the arrest requests it receives from oppressive regimes, so as not to allow these regimes to misuse The INTERPOL to target political opponents and those with dissenting opinions.
Geneva, Switzerland,
January 2, 2025
Signatory organizations:
- Human Rights Organization, Geneva,
- Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, Brussels,
- AVTT Association des Victimes de Torture, Geneva,
- SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, Geneva,
- Arab Council Foundation, Geneva,
- SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights, Geneva,
- Family Associations of Disappeared and Missing Persons, Geneva, and
- European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Berlin.
[i] Ruling of the Appellate Court, Criminal Division, Monday session, October 15, 2018, in the appeal registered in Court under No. 8614 of Judicial Year 88, Cairo, Egypt. A copy of the ruling (19 pages) in Arabic is attached to the appeal.
[ii] The authorities of the military regime in Egypt accused the defendants of “insulting the judicial authorities, during the years 2012-2013, by publishing and making statements on television and radio channels and on social media websites”, see “The Facts,” page No. (2) of the attached Appellate Court ruling.