Eight Lebanese detained in UAE freed after negotiations

Eight Lebanese detained in UAE freed after negotiations
Eight Lebanese nationals detained in the UAE landed in Beirut on Tuesday after Lebanon's security chief said he negotiated their release
2 min read
02 February, 2021
The detainees arrived in Beirut [Getty]
Eight Lebanese nationals detained in the UAE landed in Beirut on Tuesday after Lebanon's security chief said he had lobbied Abu Dhabi for their release.

Abbas Ibrahim told Reuters the eight nationals were held in UAE custody for spells of up to seven years, including some who had already completed their sentence.

He said 15 people would return in total, and 15 others are expected to be released soon.

This "came in the context of security files between Lebanon and the UAE which have been tackled", he said.

Airport sources and Lebanese state media said eight people arrived on Tuesday. A Lebanese official familiar with the matter said their charges were all related to allegedly "dealing with Hezbollah indirectly or directly".

It was not immediately clear why the Lebanese nationals had been detained but it comes amid tensions between the UAE and its Gulf ally Saudi Arabia, and Iran, which backs Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim Islamist movement.

In recent years, the UAE has expelled or sentenced to jail dozens of Shia Lebanese over alleged ties to the Tehran-backed group.

Read also: UAE to release 'more than a dozen' Lebanese prisoners: official

In November, 14 Lebanese nationals living in the UAE were arrested while playing football, without any information given over their charges.

Following up on their case, Lebanese Ambassador to the UAE Fouad Dandan said in December that it remained unclear why the group was arrested.

Between December 2017 and February 2018, at least eight Lebanese nationals were detained by Emirati authorities. They had been working in the UAE for over 15 years.

Rights groups say they were held in solitary confinement, charged with terrorism-related offences, and denied access to legal representation. 

A number of them reported having been tortured in order to sign "confessions", which they were not allowed to read, according to a 2019 report by London-based rights group Amnesty International.

The charges they face include "forming a terrorist cell" and planning "terrorist" attacks in the UAE on orders of Hezbollah, a Shia political party and armed group based in Lebanon.

New York-based Human Rights Watch had said their trial was marred with violations and irregularities, including brief hearings closed to the public and lack of access to defence lawyers.

UAE authorities declined to comment.

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