Lebanese President Joseph Aoun Pressured to Secure Release of Detainees in UAE and Saudi Arabia
As Aoun prepares to visit Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, families urge him to secure the release of Lebanese detainees. Will diplomacy succeed?
Watan-In a new effort to address the issue of Lebanese detainees in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the families of those arrested have sent a written appeal to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, urging him to intervene with the authorities in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh to secure their release. This comes as Aoun prepares for an upcoming visit to both countries following the formation of Lebanon’s new government.
President Aoun assured the families that he would formally discuss the issue with officials in both nations during his visit, raising hopes that the coming period might see progress in resolving the detainees’ cases. These hopes were bolstered by the quiet release of several Lebanese detainees over the past year.
The UAE had previously released Ahmed Asaad Faour and Ali Hassan Al-Mubder after a visit to Abu Dhabi by Wafiq Safa, the head of Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit. The discussions reportedly focused on seven Lebanese detainees arrested between 2014 and 2019 on charges of financing Hezbollah and planning terrorist operations, as labeled by UAE authorities. According to leaks at the time, the UAE had promised a gradual release of the remaining detainees.
On April 18, 2024, the UAE released Ahmed Asaad Faour, who had been imprisoned since 2014 and sentenced to life in prison. Similarly, Ali Hassan Al-Mubder was freed on June 16, 2024, after serving six years following his arrest in 2018. However, five Lebanese nationals remain imprisoned in the UAE:
- Fawzi Mohammad Dakroub, Abdul Rahman Talal Shoman, and Abdullah Hani Abdullah (all serving life sentences)
- Ahmed Makkawi (sentenced to 15 years)
- Walid Mohammad Idris (whose sentence has yet to be determined)
Similarly, Saudi authorities continue to detain 11 Lebanese nationals out of 26 individuals arrested between 2021 and 2023 on charges of communicating with Hezbollah. Their sentences range from five years to life imprisonment.
In recent years, some progress has been made on this issue. The UAE released 11 Lebanese detainees in 2021, followed by the release of 10 more in mid-2023, after they had been detained for only two months. However, the fate of many others remains uncertain, particularly following reports from human rights organizations about the death of detainee Ghazi Azeddine under torture.
As diplomatic efforts continue, the families of detainees hope that President Aoun’s upcoming visit will mark a turning point in this sensitive humanitarian and political issue. Observers are closely watching Abu Dhabi and Riyadh’s positions on the possibility of further releases in the near future.
