Egyptian activist Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi was arrested on an Egyptian arrest warrant, a Lebanese official said.
A group of lawyers and human rights activists have called for the immediate release of Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian dissident wanted by Cairo who was arrested by Lebanese authorities as he arrived from Syria at the Masnaa border.
Al-Qaradawi, who is also a poet and the son of The late spiritual leader of the Muslim BrotherhoodHe was arrested over the weekend on an Egyptian arrest warrant, a Lebanese judge said.
The document was “based on the decision of the Egyptian courts” which sentenced al-Qaradawi in absentia to five years in prison on charges of “opposing the government and inciting terrorism”, the official said.
Al-Qaradawi's lawyer, Mohammed Sablouh, asked the Lebanese authorities on Sunday to allow his client to speak to his family.
“(We want) to know that this person (al-Qaradawi) can be tortured in his country (Egypt), in order to prevent him from being handed over and returned,” he said.
Sablouh added that al-Qaradawi has Turkish citizenship, and asked to be allowed to travel to Turkey.
Al-Qaradawi's father was the famous Sunni scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned in Egypt.
The artist was arrested several times in Egypt for his links to the Muslim Brotherhood before his death in 2022 while in exile.
The Lebanese authorities have “asked the Egyptian authorities” to transfer the file on Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi for review, the judge said, asking not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Judges will make a decision on whether “the conditions are met for release” and the matter will be sent to the Lebanese government, which must make the final decision, the official added.
The campaign launched by activists aims to pressure the Lebanese authorities and urge them to respect international law on the protection of non-political persons and to stop their deportation to countries where their lives could be threatened.
Al-Qaradawi, 53, was a political leader against the government of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings.
He later clashed with Egypt's current leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who in 2013 ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
Human rights groups say Egyptian authorities have detained thousands of people as political prisoners.