Ghazi Ezz El-Din: The news of the expatriate’s death raises anger and reopens the file of the Lebanese detainees in the Emirates

The news of the death of the Lebanese expatriate, Ghazi Ezz El-Din, while he was being held by the security authorities in the UAE, sparked a wide wave of anger on social media in Lebanon.

Activists accused the UAE security authorities of killing the Lebanese man, based on what was reported in Lebanese newspapers that the authorities “refused to hand over the body or reveal it, except for the face, and buried it at night.”

So far, no official comment has been issued by the Emirati or Lebanese side about the circumstances of Ghazi Ezz El-Din’s death, which increased the anger of the pioneers of communication sites in Lebanon, who denounced the lack of action of their country’s government.

According to what was published in Lebanese newspapers, 55-year-old Ghazi Ezz El-Din, who has been detained in the UAE since mid-March, died on May 4 while he was detained, along with two of his brothers, by the security authorities.

According to what the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar said, his family received a call last Wednesday night from the Security Investigation Center in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi informing them of his death. By seeing any part of the body except for the face to make sure it belonged to his father.”

The newspaper also suggested in its report that “Ghazi Ezz El-Din had died under torture,” and indicated that “the procedures for burying the body at ten o’clock at night, and the refusal to examine it or hand it over to his relatives for transfer to Lebanon, suggest the hypothesis that Ezz El-Din was subjected to torture during the investigation, which led to his death.” “.

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Angry reactions followed by Lebanese activists about this news, and they were crossed by hashtags such as #Ghazi _ Ezz Al-Din And #Detainees_Emirates They expressed their sadness and anger at the news of the “murder” of the Lebanese expatriate, and accused the UAE authorities of “killing him under torture.”

Lawyer Maya Sabbagh published a video in which she talked about what she described as “the circumstances of Ghazi Ezz El-Din’s death in the Emirates,” and denounced “silence about such a crime.”

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While Laila goes on to say that the UAE “assassinates the Lebanese citizen Ghazi Ezz El-Din, who is unjustly detained in its prisons,” and adds, “This is the true face of the country of liberties.”

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And Ahmed Taha says in his tweet: “Today, the Emirati regime killed a Lebanese imprisoned – unconvicted, in UAE prisons! O Lebanese officials, there is a Lebanese named Ghazi Ezz El-Din who died under torture, in Guantanamo Dubai!”

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Many of the tweeters circulated a report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, based in Geneva, in which it called on the UAE authorities to “disclose the full circumstances and open an immediate and transparent investigation into the death of a Lebanese man in detention in circumstances that do not appear to be normal.”

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The Euro-Med Monitor also stated in its statement issued yesterday that it “obtained a statement indicating the possibility of Ezz El-Din’s death after being tortured during the UAE security investigation.”

However, he stressed in the statement that “it has not been possible to verify these reports in an impartial manner so far.”

The Emirates Center for Human Rights account published a tweet accusing the security services in the UAE of being responsible for the death of Ghazi Ezz El-Din.

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On the other hand, and despite their rarity, there were some voices opposing these accusations, and most of them came from within the Emirates.

Those voices described the news spread on social media as “their aim to discredit the UAE and its leadership.”

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On the other hand, tweeters poured out their anger on the Lebanese government following the news of the death of the Lebanese expatriate, and denounced its silence and inaction.

Nour Al-Zahraa says, “We, the Lebanese, demand the return of the body of #Ghazi_Ezzedine to his homeland, and the transfer of his body to forensic medicine. Our right, our country.”

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Malak wondered in her tweet: “The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement about the circumstances of the killing of the Lebanese Ghazi Ezz El-Din in Emirati prisons, or has it not been issued yet?”

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Sadiq Zuaiter says: “If Ghazi Ezz El-Din had been detained in a country other than the UAE (Syria or Iran, for example…) the resurrection of the state and the media would have taken place…”.

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Al-Fadl Shoman deplores “the lack of a statement of denunciation by the Lebanese state or the foreign ministry.”

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The news of Ezz El-Din’s death shed light on the file of the Lebanese detainees in the UAE.

According to the Euro-Med Monitor’s statement, “Last March, the UAE authorities launched a campaign of arrests of more than ten Lebanese in the UAE on unknown backgrounds and without declared and clear legal procedures, as they had earlier released a number of them, and kept about five in detention.”

The Emirates Center for Human Rights account also published a tweet accusing the UAE authorities of “continuing to arbitrarily detain 56 detainees despite the expiry of their full sentences.”

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Jamal Shuaib demanded “the release of all detainees” and accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of “negligence towards the expatriates” and that if “they did not act, the families of the detainees should file personal lawsuits against them for negligence and negligence leading to death.”

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Zeinab Kobeissi said: “Anyone who is in a position of responsibility and has authority and can demand and seek to recover the body of the oppressed Ghazi Ezz El-Din, who did not move a finger is a partner in the shedding of his blood, and is responsible for the danger that surrounds the remaining detainees.”

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While Ali Ezz El-Din says: “If the late oppressed Ghazi_Ezzedine had a foreign nationality, no one would have dared to do what he and the UAE detainees did. Unfortunately, our state does not ask about its children…”.

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As of the time this issue was published, no official comment was issued by the UAE or the Lebanese side regarding the circumstances of Ghazi Ezz El-Din’s death and the statement of the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory.