Extradition Between the UAE and Belgium

Extradition between the UAE and Belgium runs on a direct bilateral treaty — signed in December 2021 and in force since November 2022. Since then, the two countries have used it repeatedly: from a notorious Antwerp drug trafficker to a murder suspect handed over within weeks of a court ruling. This isn’t a theoretical framework. It’s an active, functioning process.

Key Points

• A direct bilateral treaty has governed UAE-Belgium extradition since November 2022 — this is not a reciprocity-based or treaty-less relationship
• At least six individuals have been extradited under this treaty between 2023 and 2025, spanning drug trafficking, money laundering, forgery, and murder cases
• Dual criminality is mandatory: the act must be a crime under both UAE and Belgian law
• Political offenses, expired statutes of limitation, and (generally) a state’s own nationals fall outside the treaty’s scope
• Timelines vary sharply — straightforward cases can resolve within months; contested ones have taken years of appeals

What Is the Legal Framework for Extradition Between the UAE and Belgium?

The UAE and the Kingdom of Belgium signed a bilateral extradition treaty in December 2021. The UAE completed its domestic legislative requirements in August 2022, Belgium followed in October 2022, and the agreement formally entered into force in November 2022. This replaced the earlier, slower reliance on ad hoc reciprocity and multilateral conventions with a direct, standardized legal channel.

The treaty rests on the same core principles found across most modern extradition frameworks:

• Dual Criminality — the conduct must constitute a criminal offense under the laws of both the UAE and Belgium.
• Minimum Sentence Threshold — extradition typically requires that the offense carry a penalty above a set minimum, consistent with international treaty standards.
• Formal Diplomatic Channel — requests are submitted through the Ministry of Justice or equivalent central authority in each country, not directly between police forces.
• Judicial Guarantees — the person facing extradition retains the right to legal representation and to contest the request before the courts.

From practice: outcomes frequently hinge on whether the requesting state can clearly demonstrate that the underlying conduct meets the dual criminality threshold, and whether the alleged penalty clears the treaty’s minimum bar. Weaknesses here are often where a defense finds its strongest footing.

How Does the Extradition Procedure Work Between the UAE and Belgium?

The process begins with a formal request submitted through diplomatic channels to the UAE’s Ministry of Justice. It must include the identity of the wanted person, the nature of the offense, the legal basis for the request, a copy of the arrest warrant or court judgment, and the relevant legal texts from both jurisdictions.

In the UAE, the Public Prosecution and Ministry of Justice examine the request for dual criminality and formal compliance before it reaches the Dubai Court of Cassation or another competent court. On the Belgian side, courts assess compatibility with Belgian law and European human rights standards.

This treaty has already produced a track record of real cases:

• Nordin El Hajjioui (“Fat Nordin”) — an Antwerp-based drug trafficker linked to the “Mocro Maffia” network, extradited from Dubai in March 2024 following a Dubai Court of Cassation ruling, after nearly four years of extradition requests.
• Gergely Franc — extradited in December 2023 on a premeditated murder charge, transferred to Belgian authorities within roughly two weeks of the Minister of Justice’s approval.
• John Bico Penaque — extradited in October 2024 on money laundering and forgery charges, the fourth confirmed extradition under the treaty at that point.
• Othman El Ballouti and Giorgi Faes, among others — extradited in July 2025 as part of continued cooperation between the two Ministries of Justice.

An INTERPOL Red Notice often precedes formal extradition proceedings, particularly when a person’s location only becomes known after they’ve already left Belgium. INTERPOL itself has no power to compel a transfer — it only coordinates the request and prompts provisional arrest while the formal file is prepared.

Timelines vary considerably. Straightforward cases with clear evidence and prosecutorial cooperation — such as Gergely Franc’s — have moved from approval to transfer within weeks. Contested cases involving repeated appeals, like Nordin El Hajjioui’s, can stretch over several years.

What Are the Practical Considerations for Someone Facing Extradition?

Anyone facing extradition between the UAE and Belgium confronts a set of concrete legal and practical decisions. The first and most important is engaging a lawyer experienced in both cross-border extradition and the specifics of how each system — UAE and Belgian — actually operates in practice.

Understanding your full legal rights matters just as much: reviewing every document and piece of evidence submitted against you, preparing a complete defense, and challenging the request before the competent courts. Procedural deadlines here are strict, and missing one can foreclose an otherwise valid defense.

If an extradition request is refused, the person is released. That is not always the end of the matter — the requesting state generally cannot resubmit a request based on the same facts and evidence already rejected, unless materially new evidence emerges. In some cases, the Public Prosecution may appeal the refusal to a higher court, during which the person may remain subject to monitoring or travel restrictions depending on the court’s risk assessment.

Extradition is a judicial process; deportation is an administrative one. Extradition operates under international treaties to transfer a person for prosecution or sentencing, and comes with extensive procedural rights, including the right to appeal. Administrative deportation, by contrast, is an executive act tied to immigration status or security grounds — it doesn’t require judicial approval in most cases and isn’t necessarily linked to a specific criminal charge. States are not permitted to use deportation as a workaround to bypass extradition safeguards; doing so would violate international law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a direct extradition treaty between the UAE and Belgium?

Yes. The UAE and Belgium signed a bilateral extradition treaty in December 2021, which entered into force in November 2022 after both countries completed their domestic ratification requirements. It has since been used in multiple confirmed extraditions.

Can UAE or Belgian nationals be extradited?

Generally, no — both the UAE and Belgium restrict the extradition of their own nationals as a matter of principle, protecting their right to be tried before courts of their own country. Belgium may transfer its nationals to other EU member states under the European Arrest Warrant, but that mechanism does not apply to the UAE.

What crimes are excluded from extradition under this treaty?

Political offenses are excluded, as are cases involving in-absentia convictions unless the requesting state guarantees a retrial with full defense rights. Offenses that are purely military, minor infractions below the threshold of a serious crime, and cases where the statute of limitations has expired also fall outside the treaty’s scope.

How long does the extradition procedure typically take?

It varies significantly. Straightforward cases with clear evidence and prosecutorial cooperation — as seen in the Gergely Franc case — moved from ministerial approval to physical transfer within about two weeks. Contested cases involving repeated appeals, like Nordin El Hajjioui’s four-year process, can take considerably longer.

What real cases show how this treaty has been applied?

Since the treaty entered into force in November 2022, the UAE has extradited at least six individuals to Belgium, including Nordin El Hajjioui (drug trafficking), Gergely Franc (murder), John Bico Penaque (money laundering and forgery), and Othman El Ballouti and Giorgi Faes, extradited together in July 2025.