Including ICFUAE, 25 organisations call for Sherif Osman's release
ICFUAE and 25 other organisations urge the authorities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) not to deport Sherif Osman to Egypt, where he would be at high risk of being subjected to torture and other human rights violations.
Following the arrest and detention in the UAE of Egyptian political commentator Sherif Osman, who faces the threat of extradition to Egypt, MENA Rights Group joins a coalition of 25 human rights organisations calling for his immediate release.
An extradition would constitute a violation of the principle of non-refoulement enshrined under article 3 of the Convention against Torture, to which the UAE is a party since 2012, the organisations said.
Osman, a former Egyptian army officer, has been an outspoken critic of the Egyptian government, including on his YouTube channel. Osman is a dual citizen of the United States and Egypt, and he resides in Massachusetts; he traveled to Dubai for a family visit on November 4, 2022. Two days later, on November 6, he was outside a restaurant when two men dressed in civilian clothes and driving a black car approached him and asked him to follow them. He was detained at the Police Headquarters in Dubai before his transfer on November 8 to Dubai Central Prison, where he remains detained to date.
On November 8, the Public Prosecutor informed him that he was wanted by Egypt, while vaguely referring to Osman’s videos dating back to 2019. However, as Osman had previously traveled to Dubai in 2020 and never faced arrest, his family believes his arrest to be in reprisal for calling for peaceful protests on November 11, 2022, during the visit of U.S. President Joe Biden to Egypt during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27).
Since his arrest, Osman has been denied the right to challenge the legality of his detention and has faced numerous impediments to his right to access a lawyer, who has yet to visit him in prison.
Read the full statement: https://menarights.org/en/articles/freesherifosman-uae-must-not-extradite-political-commentator-egypt-where-he-would-face
