Lebanese, Emirati FMs Discuss Lebanese Citizen’s Death in UAE Custody

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib spoke with his UAE counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, about the death of Lebanese citizen Ghazi Ezzeddine, 55, while in custody in the UAE. Lebanon’s Ambassador to the UAE Fouad Dandan spoke with Ezzeddine’s wife and brother, who provided a signed letter attributing his death to heart problems. Earlier, a committee representing family members of Lebanese detainees in the UAE had alleged that Ezzeddine died due to torture.

According to Amnesty International researcher Sima Watling, Ezzeddine was arrested on March 22 with eight others, including two brothers, on unknown charges. Ezzeddine’s death occurred on May 4, with his family only being notified days later. UAE authorities denied the family’s request to repatriate Ezzeddine’s body to Lebanon for burial.

The UAE has previously detained numerous Lebanese citizens, mainly Shiites, over alleged connections to the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hizbullah, which the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council members consider a terrorist organization. In 2019, the UAE sentenced one Lebanese national to life in prison and two others to 10 years for links to Hizbullah.