Family Appeals for Activist’s Release After 5-Year Sentence

The family of Egyptian opposition activist Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi has urged Lebanese authorities to release him immediately, expressing growing fears about his potential deportation to Egypt, where authorities seek him on legal charges.

Al-Qaradawi’s family members issued a press release on Sunday saying that they had sent a letter to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati asking him to intervene in the case of the Egyptian poet and writer, who is also a Turkish citizen and lives with his family in Istanbul

“As a family, we trust in the wisdom of the Lebanese leadership and the dignified people of Lebanon,” the press release said. “Lebanon has always been a symbol of the defense of freedoms, and we appeal to the Lebanese prime minister, in the name of justice and humanity, to intervene immediately to release him and ensure his safe return to his family and three daughters who are waiting for him in Istanbul.”

Al-Qaradawi, the son of the late spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Yusuf al-Qaradawi, was arrested on December 28 due to an Egyptian arrest warrant. He was detained at the Masnaa border crossing after he entered Lebanon from Syria.

Al-Qaradawi had been sentenced by an Egyptian court in absentia to five years in prison on charges of “opposing the state and inciting terrorism”, the official said.

The family said the ruling was a response to an article published by al-Qaradawi in 2012, and warned that Lebanon would be endangering al-Qaradawi’s life if it extradited him to Egypt.

His extradition to any country that demands him endangers his life, especially considering the record of human rights violations in those countries,” the press release issued on behalf of al-Qaradawi’s family said.

Al-Qaradawi’s lawyer in Lebanon, Mohammed Sablouh, had previously said that his client could be tortured if he was handed over to Egypt, which is accused by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International of repressing political dissidents and committing crimes including torture “with impunity”.

Al-Qaradawi’s family’s letter is part of a campaign urging his release and return to Turkey.

The 53-year-old was a longtime opponent of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in the country’s 2011 revolution.

The activist has also become a vocal critic of Egypt’s current leader, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who came to power after a bloody coup in 2013 against elected President Mohamed Morsi, who later died in prison.