Fiance of U.S. citizen detained in UAE fears he will be extradited to Egypt

DUBAI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - An Egyptian-American national detained while visiting the United Arab Emirates fears he will be extradited to Egypt for criticising authorities there ahead of the country hosting the COP27 climate conference last month, his fiance said on Sunday.

The UAE, a close ally of Egypt, arrested Sherif Osman, who resides in the United States, on Nov.

6 at the request of an Arab League entity responsible for coordinating law enforcement and security matters, a UAE official confirmed to Reuters on Thursday.

Osman's fiance, Saija Virta, said he was detained outside a restaurant in Dubai, where she was with him, and was told by the public prosecution that Egypt had requested the detention on charges including "speaking negatively against government institutions".

The United States was aware of Osman's arrest in Dubai, a U.S.

16 to return to work in the United States, said Osman had only on Wednesday been able to sign power of attorney for a lawyer to access his file.