The UAE is using individuals as leverage in political and trade negotiations with European and other states, placing people at risk of arbitrary detention and extrajudicial removal.
Radha Stirling, an international Interpol and extradition expert and the founder of Detained in Dubai and IPEX Reform, has warned that the United Arab Emirates is increasingly using wanted individuals as political leverage, with extradition decisions driven by diplomatic and commercial interests rather than evidence, merit, or due process.
“The UAE was once criticised for being a safe haven,” said Radha Stirling. “What we are seeing now is far more dangerous. People are being traded when it suits state-to-state negotiations.”
Stirling said the pattern is visible across multiple countries and high-profile cases.
She pointed to the extradition of Christian Michel to India, which followed intense diplomatic pressure after the internationally condemned abduction of Princess Latifa. “The extradition took place at a moment of extreme reputational pressure on the UAE,” Stirling said.
In Europe, Stirling cited the extradition of Sanjay Shah to Denmark, which occurred only after Denmark lifted its arms-export ban to the UAE and signed bespoke extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties. By contrast, extradition requests from South Africa for members of the Gupta family were refused.
“This makes it clear that extradition decisions are not based on the seriousness of allegations,” Stirling said. “They are based on political alignment and leverage.”
Stirling also highlighted Ireland, which signed an extradition treaty with the UAE in pursuit of organised crime figures. While limited cooperation followed, Ireland’s most significant target, Daniel Kinahan, remains in the UAE.
“Lower-value figures may be moved,” Stirling said. “High-value individuals are retained for future negotiations.”
She warned that the same approach is now emerging with Uzbekistan, a state with a documented record of corruption, torture, and politically motivated prosecutions. Stirling confirmed that Uzbek authorities have attempted to secure the extradition of British citizens from the UAE.
“After the extrajudicial extradition of Ulugbek Shadmanov, Uzbekistan pushed the UAE to extradite a British national who had committed no wrongdoing,” Stirling said. “It is extraordinary that a state with Uzbekistan’s human-rights record can use Interpol mechanisms to target a British citizen in the UAE and then seek extradition as a form of pressure. Fortunately, we managed to save him but this is a risk many people living in or travelling to the UAE do not appreciate.”
“Extradition is being used as leverage,” she added. “People are caught in the middle of state-to-state negotiations.”
According to Stirling, the most alarming development is the UAE’s willingness to extradite British nationals to third countries with significantly worse human-rights records, without examining evidence, assessing political motivation, or protecting against torture or coercion.
“Some extraditions are carried out suddenly, including overnight, with no meaningful access to lawyers and no transparent judicial process,” Stirling said. “That puts lives at risk.”
She said INTERPOL mechanisms are routinely relied upon to justify such removals. “A Red Notice is treated as proof of guilt. It is not. It is often the starting point of abuse.”
Stirling warned that the system now rewards authoritarian states that issue aggressive extradition requests. “This is not law enforcement,” she said. “It is deal-making. What matters is not evidence or human rights, but what the UAE gains.”
Detained in Dubai and IPEX Reform are calling for urgent international scrutiny of UAE extradition practices, immediate diplomatic intervention to protect nationals at risk, and reform of Interpol and extradition systems to prevent their use as tools of political leverage.
“If this continues,” Stirling said, “anyone with political or economic value can be traded.”
