Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nayhan is the son of the late United Arab Emirates President Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; the brother of the present ruler of Abu Dhabi, the Emir Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Sheikh Issa is a prominent real estate developer in the UAE, being associated most recently with the Al Hekma Tower (or "Wisdom Tower") planned in memory of Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late President of the UAE with an image of him which will crown the top of the building.^[1]

Torture allegations

Sheikh Issa is the subject of a lawsuit brought by businessman Bassam Nabulsi of Houston, Texas, a former long-term adviser to the Al Nahyan family, filed on August 16, 2006.[1]

Nabulsi alleges that he safeguarded the Sheikh's most important documents, including financial records, investment documents and videotapes which showed the Sheikh torturing a man with a cattle prod and a spiked plank. The latter was smuggled^[when?] out of the country by Nabulsi, who is suing^[when?] the Sheikh in federal court in Houston, alleging he also was tortured by UAE police when he refused to turn over the videos to the Sheikh following a falling out between them. "They were my security, really, to make my case that this man is capable of doing what I say he can do," said Nabulsi in an interview to be broadcast^[when?] on the ABC News program Nightline. Nabulsi stated that the video tapes were recorded by his brother, on orders from the Sheikh who liked to watch the torture sessions later in his royal palace.^[2] The lawsuit was dismissed on June 12, 2009 by order of district judge Sim Lake for lack of personal jurisdiction and proper service of process.

In April 2009, an abridged version of the tape was posted by ABC News.^[3][4] In the video, taken at some time in 2005,^[2] shows Sheikh Issa beating another man, an Afghan grain merchant called Mohammed Shah Poor, with a wooden plank with protruding nails, firing an automatic weapon into the sand around him and forcing a cattle prod into his anus before turning it on.^[2] Prior to the abuse, the video allegedly shows a man in a UAE police uniform tying the victim's arms and legs; at a later point, Issa urges the cameraman to move in closer with the words, "Get closer. Get closer. Get closer. Let his suffering show." ^[2] The victim also appeared to have been run over by a Mercedes SUV, have lighter fluid poured on his genitals and set alight,^[2] and had salt poured on his wounds.^[2][5]

Lawyers stated the abuse began because the Sheikh felt he had been overcharged in a grain deal. "Ultimately this video, or certainly large portions of it, will be played in court," said Anthony G Buzbee, who represents Nabulsi in his lawsuit.^[6] The lawsuit, filed pursuant to the Torture Victims Protection Act, also lists Sheikhs Nasser (since deceased), and Saif, as well as the Royal Family of bin Zayed Nahyan Partnership as defendants.^[7]

In a statement to ABC News, the UAE Ministry of the Interior said it had reviewed the tape and acknowledged the involvement of Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, brother of the country's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed; the Minister of the Interior is also a sibling of Sheikh Issa..^[4] The Ministry said, "The incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior," the Interior Ministry's statement declared. The government statement said its review found "all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department."^[4]

Responding to the government statement, Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch stated "If this is their complete reply, then sadly it's a scam and it's a sham. [...] It is the state that is torturing them, if the government does not investigate and prosecute these officers, and those commanding those officers." In response to the video's emergence, US congressman Jim McGovern called for a freeze on government aid to the UAE, and requested that Issa be refused US visas; in a letter to the secretary of state of the United States, Hillary Clinton, he said: "I cannot describe the horror and revulsion I felt when witnessing what is on this video ... I could not watch it without constantly flinching."^[2] Nabulsi has also alleged that he brought the existence of the torture tape, along with the involvement and collusion of UAE police, to the attention of a US official assigned to train UAE police, with little effect.^[2] McGovern has also called for an investigation into these allegations, in order to discover when US officials knew about the tape, if they took any action and, in the event that they didn't, why not. "It shocks the conscience," he said.^[2]

The controversy over the torture tape has delayed recertification of a US–UAE nuclear power cooperation agreement.^[8]

Abu Dhabi probe into allegations

Abu Dhabi reported on 29 April 2009 it would probe these allegations.^[9] Without acknowledging Sheik Issa by name, the statement said "the events depicted on the video appear to represent a violation of human rights".^[9]

The alleged incident occurred in 2004,^[9] and it is evident that the man in uniform (seen in the video) is a private guard or policeman who seemed to be of Arabic origin and who assisted the sheikh during the entire ordeal.^[who?].

But the tape might just be the first piece of evidence in a wider scandal.^{[citation needed]} The Observer reported on Sunday 3 May that the lawyer for Nabulsi, Sheik Issa's former partner, claims to have "more than two hours of video footage showing Sheikh Issa's involvement in the torture of more than 25 people."^[10] According to the newspaper, police are believed to be seen participating in the attacks and some of the victims are thought to be Sudanese immigrants^[10].

References

External links

• UAE Torture - Bassam Nabulsi's website