Australian Parliament ratified an extradition treaty with the UAE in 2011 but included provisions for human rights violations, meaning that if the UAE requests extradition and the requested party is at risk of human rights violations, the request could be denied
Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai and Expert Witness in UAE extradition cases, along with Senator Kroger, lobbied Parliament in Canberra to either dispose of the Treaty or to at minimum, to include provisions to protect Australians in the same way that the United Kingdom has.
Stirling said “this represents the first time that Australia has tested their extradition treaty with the UAE. If the men were charged in the UAE, they would potentially face the death penalty or lengthy imprisonment. Given the seriousness of the allegations, we fully expect the UAE to comply with the request in an expeditious manner. While the UAE has rejected some extradition requests from other countries that had exceeded their timeframe limitations or where there has not been sufficient evidence involved, they are likely to approve this request and promote positive diplomatic relations with Australia. The UAE take drugs related crime very seriously”.
While the UK has taken almost a decade to consider extradition appeals in some cases, the UAE justice system has historically been swift in considering requests.
In 2011, the UAE went to great efforts to secure the Treaty and we hope that their agreement to extradite the subjects in this case, does not mean that Australia will consider the UAE’s requests speedily, given the extreme risk of unfair trials, discrimination and human rights violations.”
