What is the fate of Mira al-Tufayli after the 15-year sentence in the UAE?

Social media erupted with news of the verdict against Lebanese beauty queen runner-up Mira al-Tufayli, sentencing her to 15 years in prison after conviction in a case involving drug use and trafficking, human trafficking, facilitating prostitution, and blackmail.

The ruling stipulated the possibility of deporting the convicted to their home countries, and the possibility of executing the penalties there in accordance with applicable agreements and laws, while excluding them from Gulf Cooperation Council countries. So, will Mira al-Tufayli be imprisoned in Lebanon?

The court also issued varying sentences against the remaining convicts, ranging from one year to 15 years, with the verdicts remaining subject to appeal according to legal procedures.

A legal source tells MTV, "In general principle, a convicted person serves their sentence in the place where the verdict was issued."

He adds: "But if there are bilateral agreements between Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates that permit this type of surrender of convicts to enforce their sentence within Lebanese territory, then it is possible for Lebanon to receive this person and enforce their sentence in Lebanon, provided that the agreements are clearly and explicitly stipulated in this regard."

However, another legal source confirms that "there is no judicial cooperation agreement between the UAE and Lebanon regarding criminal cases or the extradition of detainees, and thus we return to the normal Lebanese procedures, which is that the Lebanese judiciary can request the return of any Lebanese person if the crime they committed is punishable in Lebanon," noting that "historically, there is no approval for a detainee extradition process between Lebanon and the UAE to enforce their sentence in Lebanon."

The source tells MTV, "If there is a political aspect within the verdict issued against the person, or if it touches upon the Emirati state, then Lebanon cannot extradite them."

Therefore, since there is no declared bilateral agreement for transferring convicts between the UAE and Lebanon, enforcing Mira al-Tufayli's sentence within Lebanon is not automatic merely because the verdict was issued in the UAE. Rather, it is supposed to be the result of a special legal arrangement agreed upon by both countries. Consequently, the phrase "the possibility of deporting the convicted to their home countries, and the possibility of executing the penalties there in accordance with applicable agreements and laws" is a general legal formulation, meaning that transfer is conditional on the existence of an agreement or applicable legal instrument, and not that it will happen automatically.

MTV website