DUBAI has long sold itself as a playground for Brits – a sun-soaked safe haven of luxury hotels, tax-free living and iron-clad security.
But a dramatic arrest and lighting-fast deportation carried out at the Kremlin’s request has raised a chilling question – are Brits actually safe in the UAE?
There is concern over the safety of Brits in the UAE following the recent deportation of Lyubomir KorbaCredit: East2West
Lyubomir Korba spotted at the airport before his arrestCredit: East2West
The dramatic arrest was a Kremlin requestCredit: Getty
Dubai deported Lyubomir Korba to Russia after Moscow accused him of shooting a top general in Moscow, according to Kremlin state media.
Police in the UAE allegedly caved to a Kremlin request to expel the suspected gunman, named as Russian national Korba, 65.
The move has raised concerns for hundreds of Brits who fear being targeted by Moscow over their support for Ukraine.
Radha Stirling, CEO and founder of the activist group Detained in Dubai, warned she has seen “numerous cases” where targets – including Brits – have been extradited “to countries that the UK would certainly have opposed”.
“This leaves British citizens and foreign nationals at significant risk when they travel to the UAE,” she told The Sun.
“They may believe they are safe, but the UAE can easily deport them to a third country without due process and without consulting with the UK.”
Putin’s FSB spy service claims last Friday on the orders of Ukrainian intelligence.
The general was reportedly fighting for his life after being shot in the head and back inside a Moscow apartment block.
Lt Gen Alexeyev was suspected of plotting the deadly Novichok nerve agent attack that killed innocent mum Dawn Sturgess in Britain in 2018.
The FSB said the shooter fled and was later “detained in Dubai with the assistance of UAE law enforcement and handed over to Russia”.
It is unclear how he reached Dubai.
Russia alleges Korba was recruited by Ukraine in August with help from Polish intelligence.
They believe he trained in Kyiv, was promised a £22,000 payout, and paid $2,000 a month for surveillance missions before the attack.
British citizens and foreign nationals are at significant risk when they travel to the UAE.
Radha Stirling
Footage released by Russian authorities showed Korba being hauled off a luxury private jet in Moscow, paraded in handcuffs and bundled into a waiting van by FSB officers.
Kremlin spokespersons later confirmed that Vladimir Putin personally thanked the UAE’s president, Mohammed bin Zayed, for his assistance in a phone call.
Some analysts now fear the deportation was a political gift to Putin, designed to keep Moscow at the negotiating table ahead of much-anticipated peace talks held in the UAE.
Russia and Ukraine are continuing to thrash out the terms of the proposed peace treaty which would bring an end to the four-year conflict.
An uncomfortable possibility has been raised that the safety and legal rights of Western citizens in Dubai could be quietly traded for diplomatic leverage.
Radha said: “Extradition is being used as leverage.
“People are caught in the middle of state-to-state negotiations.”
Philipp Simon Busse, a criminal defence and extradition lawyer, said there is an “extradition treaty” between Russia and the UAE.
He told The Sun: “The conclusion of this treaty alone is an expression of mutual trust, even if this may not be justified from a human rights perspective.”
Putin’s FSB spy service claims Korba tried to assassinate Lieutenant General Vladimir AlexeyevCredit: East2West
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, 64, was left fighting for his life after he was gunned down in MoscowCredit: Reuters
Legal experts warn the implications of the arrest for Brits are starkCredit: AFP
By prioritising this “mutual trust” over Western concerns, the UAE has effectively created a seamless pipeline for Russian security requests.
Radha added that the current framework incentivises aggressive requests, where leverage matters more than justice.
“This is not law enforcement,” she said.
“It is deal-making. What matters is not evidence or human rights, but what the UAE gains.”
The turnaround of the deportation – just 48 hours – has fuelled concern about what it could mean for Brits abroad.
Extradition lawyer Philipp said: “The speed of the proceedings seems striking.”
There was no public hearing, no legal challenge and no chance to appeal in Korba’s case.
It was just a swift transfer – described by Moscow as a “handover” – from one of Britain’s closest Gulf allies to one of its most hostile adversaries
Radha continued: “For some people, Dubai is no longer a transit hub. It has become a handover point.”
Innocent people are at risk of wrongful extradition to Russia and other countries like Uzbekistan, as I have seen recently in multiple cases.u0022
Radha Stirling
Philipp states that under UAE law, a court decision is usually mandatory before any extradition can take place.
He said the only way to “fast-track” an extradition without a judge is if the suspect voluntarily “consents”.
Unless Korba inexplicably agreed to be handed over to the FSB, the UAE appears to have used a “fast-track” that ignores its own safeguarding laws, Philipp explained.
For British travellers and expats, the implications are unsettling. If due process can be bypassed in a matter of hours, legal protections many assume are guaranteed overseas may be far more fragile than they think.
Radha said: “It is certainly concerning that the UAE cooperates with Russia and other countries in ways that bypass proper judicial process.
“It puts innocent people at risk of wrongful extradition to Russia and other countries like Uzbekistan, as I have seen recently in multiple cases.”
The recent “handover” has sparked fears that Dubai may be operating an extra-judicial fast track.
This suggests the potential existence of a discreet channel that allows politically sensitive suspects to be passed directly to authoritarian regimes, bypassing the courts entirely, experts warned.
There are fears the deportation was a political gift to Putin, designed to keep Moscow at the negotiating tableCredit: AP
Russia’s FSB security services discovered the weapon usedCredit: East2West
If that is true, legal experts warn the implications for Brits are stark.
Anyone who has raised funds for Ukraine, worked in journalism, government, defence – or simply appeared on one of Moscow’s sprawling and often opaque sanction lists – could be vulnerable while travelling or living in the UAE.
Once dubbed the “Switzerland of the Sand”, the UAE has carefully cultivated an image of neutrality.
But this case suggests a more troubling reality, experts say – one where Dubai is willing to act as an enforcer for the Kremlin when it suits its strategic interests.
Campaign groups Detained in Dubai and IPEX Reform are calling for urgent international scrutiny of the UAE’s extradition practices.
Dubai Travel Advice
Gov.uk states tensions are rising in the region:
• Brits are urged to take sensible precautions and think carefully about their own safety when travelling.
• There is a high global terror threat affecting UK interests and British nationals.
• Extremist groups and individuals see Britons as potential targets, officials warn.
• Attacks could be indiscriminate and happen in places popular with tourists and foreign visitors.
• Terror groups have issued threats about possible attacks in the Gulf, including against Western targets.
• UK citizens are specifically mentioned in some of those threats.
• Because of rising regional tensions, Israeli and Jewish-linked locations in the UAE could also be targeted.
They are also demanding immediate diplomatic intervention to protect nationals who may be at risk.
The groups are pushing for sweeping reform of Interpol and international extradition systems.
They warn these mechanisms are increasingly being used as tools of political leverage rather than instruments of justice.
“If this continues, anyone with political or economic value can be traded,” Radha added.
For the hundreds of thousands of Brits who live in, work in, or holiday in Dubai every year, this shift could carry serious consequences.
Founder of the activist group Detained in Dubai, Radha Stirling said Brits are at “significant risk” when travelling to the UAECredit: Alamy
Safety and legal rights of Western citizens in Dubai could be quietly traded for diplomatic leverageCredit: Getty
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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