The UAE will extradite French national Mehdi Charafa — a criminal wanted for drug-related offences — to France, authorities announced on Friday.
The Federal Supreme Court has approved the extradition, allowing Charafa to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering in France.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal initially approved the extradition; however, Charafa challenged the decision and appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
In a session held on January 14, the country’s top court rejected the appeal and gave the green light for the extradition.
The decision came after the defendant had exhausted all legal procedures, and in implementation of the extradition agreement signed between the UAE and France on May 2, 2007.
The extradition agreement with the French Republic is one of more than 45 agreements that the UAE has signed in recent years with a number of countries.
The state also intends to sign more agreements in this regard, as part of its keenness to enhance cooperation in the legal and judicial fields by following the best practices applied in this field and what enhances efforts to combat global crimes.
