Al-Qaradawi removed from Interpol's ‘wanted’ list

Interpol has removed Yousef Al-Qaradawi from its “wanted” list, the Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR) announced on Sunday, Anadolu has reported. The head of the Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars was placed on the list following the claim by the Egyptian authorities that he was responsible for a number of crimes — including murder and theft — in the wake of the 2013 military coup.

In its statement on Sunday, the UK-based AOHR said that the international police agency had concluded that the prominent Muslim scholar had not been in Egypt at the time of the alleged crimes, thus proving his innocence. The rights group went on to point out that Interpol now has “more information” regarding events in post-coup Egypt. All but one person accused by Cairo is now believed to be innocent of any criminal wrongdoing.

According to AOHR chairman Mohamed Jamil, Interpol’s findings are a victory against Egypt’s post-coup regime. “The government in Egypt has murdered Egyptians and arrested scores of people on trumped-up charges, often extracting ‘confessions’ through torture,” he explained.

Interpol issued a “red notice” against Al-Qaradawi in 2014 based on a request by Cairo, which had accused him of inciting violence, theft, arson and vandalism, among other alleged offences. The veteran scholar is known to be a vocal critic of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who, as Defence Minister, led the 2013 coup which ousted Egypt’s first freely-elected President, Mohamed Morsi.

Since the coup, during which hundreds were killed, Interpol has issued arrest warrants for several leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood – of which Morsi was a leading member – at Cairo’s request.

Read: Muslim World League suspends Al-Qaradawi’s membership