Calls are growing for the release of imprisoned poet al-Qaradawi after his arrest in Lebanon Human Rights Issues

Egyptian activist Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi has been arrested on an Egyptian arrest warrant, a Lebanese official said.

A group of lawyers and activists called for the immediate release of Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian opposition activist wanted by Cairo who was arrested by Lebanese authorities when he arrived from Syria at the Masnaa border crossing.

Al-Qaradawi, a poet and the son of the late Muslim Brotherhood leader, was arrested over the weekend on an Egyptian arrest warrant, a Lebanese law enforcement official said.

The warrant was “based on the decision of Egyptian judges” who sentenced al-Qaradawi in absentia to five years in prison on charges of “opposing the regime and inciting terrorism”, the official said.

Al-Qaradawi's lawyer, Mohammed Sablouh, asked on Sunday that the Lebanese authorities allow his client to speak to his family.

“[We want to] find out who this person is [al-Qaradawi] he may be persecuted in his country [Egypt]in an effort to prevent him from being handed over and returned,” he said.

Sablouh added that al-Qaradawi has Turkish citizenship, and asked that he be allowed to travel to Turkey.

Al-Qaradawi's father was the prominent Sunni scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Egypt.

The late scholar was arrested several times in Egypt for his links to the Muslim Brotherhood before he died in 2022 while in exile.

Lebanese authorities will “ask the Egyptian authorities” to hand over Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi's file for examination, a justice official said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The judiciary will make a recommendation on whether “the conditions are met for his repatriation” and the matter will be forwarded to the Lebanese government, which must make the final decision, the official said.

This campaign launched by activists aims to put pressure on the Lebanese authorities and urge them to respect international laws related to the protection of political dissidents and to prevent their deportation to countries that may pose a threat to their lives.

Al-Qaradawi, 53, was a political activist against the regime of Egypt's longtime leader, Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in 2011 during the Arab Spring violence.

Over time, he became strongly opposed to the current Egyptian leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who in 2013 overthrew the elected president, Mohamed Morsi.

Rights groups say Egyptian authorities have detained tens of thousands of people as political prisoners.