Lebanon's Foreign Ministry said in a short statement that Lebanon’s ambassador to the UAE, Fouad Dandan, spoke by telephone with the wife and brother of the late Ghazi Ezzedine, 55. The envoy later received a signed letter from the family saying the man died as a result of heart problems.

According to the statement, UAE’s Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan told his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib that Ezzedine’s family can leave the UAE or stay if they want.

However, it did not say whether the family will be allowed to take the man’s body for burial in Lebanon following reports that they were prevented from doing so.

UAE authorities have detained dozens of Lebanese, mostly Shias, in the past over alleged links to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The UAE, like other Gulf Cooperation Council members, considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

In 2019, the UAE sentenced one Lebanese national to life in prison and two to ten years in prison on charges of links to Hezbollah.

* This story has been edited by Ahram Online