Sarah Balabagan-Sereno[1] (born March 8, 1979) is a Filipino former migrant worker and media personality who was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates from 1994 to 1996 for murder.
Her siblings died due to disease and because of her family's financial constraints, which prevented them from availing adequate medical care.
On September 6, 1995, a second Islamic court found no evidence of rape and convicted her of premeditated murder, sentencing her to death by firing squad.
Reportedly, it was only after a personal appeal for mercy by President of the United Arab Emirates Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan that al-Baloushi's family agreed to drop their execution demand in exchange for blood money.
[5] On October 30, at her third trial, her sentence was reduced to a year's imprisonment and 100 strokes of the cane, along with payment of blood money, which was donated by a Filipino businessman.
[11] In August 2020, Balabagan confirmed that the father of her first-born child is the journalist Arnold Clavio, who exclusively covered her murder case, and revealed that their relationship happened when she was 17 years old.
Directed by Joel Lamangan the Filipino language film starring Vina Morales in the title role which was initially offered to Balabagan herself but had declined.
The government of the Philippines made several attempts to prevent the film from being shown lest it damage bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates, and its release was delayed for several months.