UAE pardons Egyptian poet Abdul Rahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi

The president of thre United Arab Emirates has pardoned Egyptian poet and high-profile activist Abdul Rahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who was facing a ten-year prison sentence, Emirati media reported. According to the reports, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan issued the pardon on Friday after Qaradawi was convicted by the Cybercrime Circuit of the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal on 27 August, who handed him a 10-year custodial sentence and a fine of Dh200,000. The dual Egyptian-Tukrish national was first detained in Lebanon in January, and extradited to the UAE over a video he posted to social media while visiting Syria, in which he expressed critical views of the Egyptian, Emirati and Saudi authorities. Both Egypt and the UAE issued extradition requests for Qaradawi, with Lebanese authorities acting on the Emirati warrant on 8 January. MEE reported that in the months following his extradition, Qaradawi remained "forcibly disappeared" with no charges or indictment. Read more: UAE President pardons Egyptian poet Abdul Rahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi