UAE Pardons Egyptian Dissident Poet Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has pardoned Egyptian dissident, opposition activist and poet Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi, state media reported on Friday. The executive pardon comes just days after an Abu Dhabi court sentenced him to ten years in prison.

comes just days after= 就在……的短短幾天之後發生

Al-Qaradawi was convicted on August 27 by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal's Cybercrime Division, which handed down a ten-year sentence and a 200,000 dirham ($55,000) fine. Authorities had charged him with engaging in activities intended to undermine public security, following his arrest in Lebanon in December 2024 under an Arab Interior Ministers Council warrant and his extradition to the UAE in January 2025.

handed down= （正式）宣判、頒布（判決或刑罰）intended to undermine= 意圖削弱或破壞（公共安全或權威）

While state news agency WAM indicated that official procedures to implement the presidential pardon are underway, it is not yet clear if al-Qaradawi has been physically released. Human rights groups and UN experts had voiced strong opposition to his detention and extradition, arguing he was targeted solely for exercising his right to free expression.

are underway= （程序或計畫等）正在進行中solely for exercising= 僅僅因為行使（權利）

Al-Qaradawi is the son of the late Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Sunni Muslim scholar whose vocal support for the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings provoked widespread opposition from Egyptian and Gulf leadership. Prior to the extradition, al-Qaradawi's family had warned Lebanese authorities that handing him over would put his life in danger.

學習筆記

文法整理

句型	意思
comes just days after	就在……的短短幾天之後發生
handed down	（正式）宣判、頒布（判決或刑罰）
intended to undermine	意圖削弱或破壞（公共安全或權威）
are underway	（程序或計畫等）正在進行中
solely for exercising	僅僅因為行使（權利）

詞彙整理

單字	意思
dissident	不贊同主流意見、既定政策或普遍接受的觀念；持異議的
undermine	暗中削弱（某人的權威、信心、地位或某項計畫、制度等），使其逐漸失去效力或難以順利進行。
extradition	一國依據法律或條約，將在該國境內被控犯罪或已被判刑的人，交給另一國審理或執行刑罰。

延伸學習

•法律新聞用語：特赦與引渡: 在國際法律新聞中，「executive pardon（行政/總統特赦）」與「extradition（引渡）」具有明確的法律定義。總統特赦是指在判決宣告後，由行政首長免除其刑罰執行的官方措施。
•政治背景：「阿拉伯之春」的後續影響: 文中提及卡拉達維的父親尤素福，因在 2011 年「阿拉伯之春」期間公開支持起義運動，長期與埃及及海灣國家當局立場對立，這是了解本案背景的重要線索。