33 rights groups call on UK, EU to help secure release of rights activist forcibly disappeared by UAE

Thirty-three human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have appealed to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas to intervene and secure the release of poet and rights activist Abdulrahman Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who was forcibly extradited and has been in enforced disappearance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 8 January 2025.

In a joint letter, the signatories explained that Abdulrahman’s enforced disappearance prompted the United Nations human rights experts to issue a statement on 5 March calling on the UAE to disclose his whereabouts.

They 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.

The signatories noted that Abdulrahman’s case involves transnational repression, where states collaborate to silence dissent beyond their borders, explaining that this is not an isolated incident but part of a broader issue affecting human rights defenders, activists and writers in the region. The signatories considered Abdulrahman’s extradition and detention a violation of international human rights laws, including the ICCPR (freedom of expression and protection from arbitrary detention), and the CAT (prohibition of extradition to countries where torture is a risk).

“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 letter warns.

They called on the UK and EU to leverage their ties with the UAE, with whom both bodies have deep trade and diplomatic ties, to secure Abdulrahman’s immediate release. A move that” 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,” they explained.

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