UAE President pardons Egyptian poet Abdul Rahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi

UAE President pardons Egyptian poet Abdul Rahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi Submitted by Katherine Hearst on Fri, 09/04/2026 - 11:34 The Egyptian-Turkish national was 'forcibly disappeared' following his extradition to the United Arab Emirates and facing a 10-year prison sentence Off The President of the 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, Sheikh Mohamed 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.