Detainee discussions: Wafiq Safa's sole purpose in the UAE visit

For years, the file of detained Lebanese individuals in the United Arab Emirates was not a matter of concern for Lebanese except for a few who chose to advocate for them and champion their cause. 

This article is originally published in, translated from Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

The arrest, torture, and even killing of Lebanese residents on non-Lebanese soil, after fabricating charges against them for religious and political reasons, were deemed "acceptable" by a "sovereign" Lebanese political-media faction. 

They were enamored to the point of melting by the allure of the "golden visa" and the "American dream" with its Gulf tint, to the extent that merely condemning or addressing the issue of the detainees was impossible for them and was disregarded. 

However, news of the visit of Hezbollah's Liaison and Coordination Unit head, Wafiq Safa, to the UAE, specifically tasked with the fate of the detainees, brought the file back to the forefront. 

It became a permissible subject for discussion among those who opened the door to their imaginations, delving into analyzing the dimensions of the visit and linking it to regional developments and shifts related to the repercussions of the war in Gaza on the overall situation in the region.

With the power vested in it, the Lebanese team has gained the ability to address the issue of detainees not out of concern for them as Lebanese citizens who have been unjustly treated but because they found in it a new means of accusing Hezbollah of engaging in political bargaining at this sensitive moment the region is going through.

But away from immersing the issue in the political madness that has been happening since "October 7th," Safa's visit is only confined to following up on the detainees' file in the UAE, according to prominent political sources who indicated that "this visit came after a long process of discussions that began about six months ago." 

The sources revealed that "the UAE tried more than once to open channels of direct communication with Hezbollah while the latter refused this matter. 

At that time, the file was in the hands of the former General Director of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, who was tasked with monitoring it, and the contacts he made at that time led to the release of some of them in 2021.

"The UAE released eight Lebanese on that day who returned to Beirut under an agreement between the Lebanese authorities and their Emirati counterparts to release them, after being detained for several months in the Gulf state on charges of dealing with Hezbollah," the sources said. 

Ibrahim was also promised to consider releasing the rest of the detainees on any upcoming national or religious occasion. However, the file was not closed, and the UAE continued to detain several citizens until mid-last year. 

It was forced to release five Lebanese detainees after the death of one of the detainees, Ghazi Ezzedine, in his prison and his burial in the UAE.

As Safa is supposed to return from the UAE on Wednesday, the sources say there is information that the detainees might accompany him after their release. 

They are Abdallah Hani Abdallah (Khiyam - sentenced to life imprisonment), Ali Hassan Mubadar (Sidon - sentenced to life imprisonment), Ahmad Ali Makawi (Tripoli - sentenced to 15 years), Abdul Rahman Talal Shouman (Kfra Dounine - sentenced to life imprisonment), Ahmad Faour (Khiyam - sentenced to 15 years), Fawzi Mohammad Dakroub (Zuqaq Al-Balat - sentenced to life imprisonment), and Walid Mohammad Idris (Beqaa - sentenced to 10 years).

In addition, the sources revealed that "opening channels of communication between the UAE and Hezbollah came after mediation by a regional state," noting that efforts were made by Lebanese security officials with their Syrian counterparts and with the Iraqi government to mediate with the UAE to close this file. 

The sources confirmed that "the communications that took place were highly confidential and no one was aware of them, not even Hezbollah's allies internally, who inquired about it after the news was leaked, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah delegated the task to Safa, considering it an exceptional security matter with no political dimensions to it." 

The sources asserted that "the detainees' file is the only file Safa is discussing in the UAE, and his visit has no relation to the presidential file or the war file."