According to figures announced by UAE Minister of Justice Abdullah Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi at the United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi, incoming extradition requests to the UAE increased by 235 per cent between 2021 and 2025, while mutual legal assistance requests rose by 244 per cent. The UAE now has more than 140 bilateral judicial cooperation agreements with 53 countries.

Stirling also highlighted what she described as an increasingly concerning pattern in which the United Arab Emirates is being used as a rapid transit jurisdiction for arrests and extraditions connected to Uzbek requests, often raising serious concerns regarding judicial oversight, access to legal remedies, and compliance with international due process safeguards.

Uzbekistan has sentenced 10 individuals to lengthy prison terms in connection with an alleged assassination attempt on Komil Allamjonov

Shadmanov was detained in Dubai and extradited to Uzbekistan. Authorities declined to say why they sought Shadmanov’s extradition.