Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have arrested an American citizen and civil rights lawyer who previously served as a lawyer for slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an official and a United States-based rights group.
A UAE government official confirmed to the Reuters news agency on Saturday that Asim Ghafoor was arrested while transiting through Dubai airport on July 14 following an in absentia conviction for money laundering.
A US official earlier on Saturday said Washington was aware of the arrest, but could not say whether President Joe Biden would raise the issue in bilateral talks with the UAE president on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia.
“There’s no indication that it has anything to do with the Khashoggi issue,” the US official said.
Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents in 2018 at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in an operation the US intelligence says was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). MBS denies involvement.
Rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), of which Ghafoor is a board member, said in a statement on Friday the Virginia-based civil rights lawyer was en route to Istanbul to attend a family wedding when he was arrested.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES