Hezbollah’s Safa heads to UAE for talks on detained Lebanese accused of links to Hezbollah

Wafiq Safa, the head of Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit, left for the United Arab Emirates a private jet accompanied by an Emirati mediator on Tuesday,  Al Mayadeen website which is closely associated with Hezbollah reported

He reportedly headed to the UAE to follow up on the case of several detained Lebanese citizens who remain behind bars in the Emirates, according to Al Mayadeen

Earlier in March last year, the UAE arrested a cell of 10 Lebanese nationals, accusing them of establishing contact with Hezbollah with the aim of “carrying out terrorist acts.”. The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed earlier that UAE authorities plan on releasing them. 

This has been a long-standing issue, as Emirati authorities had previously arrested several groups of Lebanese nationals, releasing eight of them on February 2, 2021. Authorities released the citizens after then General Director of the Lebanese General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, led negotiations with Emirati officials. 

At the time, Ibrahim told Reuters that the eight released citizens were “detained in the Emirates for a period ranging from a few months to seven years, while others had completed their sentences.”

More recently, in November 2023, sources from the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Al Mayadeen that Emirati authorities detained a number of Lebanese nationals and did not state the reasons for their arrest. 

According Al Mayadeen sources, the number of detained Lebanese nationals is currently 12, all of whom are residents of the UAE who have not been r been previously charged with criminal or illegal acts.

In a related development Informed sources have revealed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad mediated talks between the UAE and Hezbollah for the release of several Lebanese citizens who remain behind bars in the Gulf nation, The Cradle another Hezbollah-linked website reported.