A gathering of Hezbollah supporters in Beirut in 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — In its first official acknowledgment of the trip, Hezbollah announced Thursday that the party's head of the Liaison and Coordination Unit, Wafiq Safa, visited the United Arab Emirates to follow up on the cases of Lebanese detainees, held there under the charge of being associated with the party.
Safa traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, and initial reports claimed what Hezbollah has now confirmed — that Safa had gone to negotiate for the release of the detainees before the end of Ramadan. Six are currently being held in Emirati prisons, faced with serving from 15 years to life in prison for having suspected ties to Hezbollah.
"The head of the Liaison and Coordination Unit, Hajj Wafiq Safa, visited the United Arab Emirates as part of the ongoing follow-up to address the case of a number of Lebanese detainees there, where he met with a number of officials concerned with this case, and [a solution to this issue will be reached hopefully]," reads Hezbollah's statement.
Safa's visit was both unexpected and unprecedented, as it marked the first time that a Hezbollah official had visited the Emirates on party business. Hezbollah is a designated terrorist organization in the UAE.
Aboul-Fadl Chouman, a spokesperson for the relatives of the detainees in the UAE, told L'Orient Today on Tuesday that six Lebanese citizens, including four who are serving life sentences and two who face 15 years in prison, remain incarcerated in the Emirates.
According to Chouman, the UAE is holding the Lebanese citizens under the charge of "laundering money for Hezbollah and Iran, as well as having made contact with the Shia party." Each of the accused has denied the allegations.
The issue gained renewed attention in May last year following the death of Lebanese businessman Ghazi Ezzeddine while in UAE custody, reigniting concerns about the fate of Lebanese citizens, predominantly Shiites, detained in recent years for suspected links to Hezbollah.
Although Hezbollah said that the visit is only related to the detainees, Safa's move might be also linked to the rapprochement between Abu Dhabi and Tehran. This phase began in 2021 and involved opening channels of contact with Hezbollah.