Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Encyclopedia
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
.
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 Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late President of the UAE with an image of him which will crown the top of the building.
In April 2009 a video tape of torture
smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates
showed Issa mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods, wooden planks with protruding nails and running him over repeatedly with a car.
, filed on August 16, 2006 in District Court for the The Southern District of Texas Houston Division for Assault, Libel, and Slander.
Nabulsi alleges that he safeguarded the Issa's most important documents, including financial records, investment documents and videotapes, which showed Issa torturing a man with a cattle prod and a spiked plank. Nabulsi, who had smuggled the tape out of the UAE, was also suing Issa, alleging he was tortured by UAE police, after he refused to hand over videos to Issa after a disagreement. Nabulsi claimed his brother recorded the tapes as demanded by Issa, who, Nabulsi claimed, liked to watch them later. The lawsuit was dismissed on June 12, 2009 by 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. In the video, taken at some time in 2005, shows 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. 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." The victim also appeared to have been run over by a Mercedes SUV, have lighter fluid poured on his genitals and set alight, and had salt
poured on his wounds.
Lawyers stated the abuse began because Issa 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. The lawsuit, filed pursuant to the Torture Victims Protection Act, also lists Sheikhs Nasser bin Zayed Al Nahyan (since deceased), and Saif
, as well as the Royal Family of bin Zayed Nahyan Partnership as defendants.
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 Issa. 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."
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." 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. 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.
The controversy over the torture tape has delayed recertification of a US–UAE nuclear power cooperation agreement.
The incident occurred in 2004, 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 Issa during the entire ordeal.
It appeared the initial tape could be the beginning of the problem and it was reported on Sunday 3 May that the lawyer for Nabulsi, Issa's former partner, claimed to have "more than two hours of video footage showing Issa's involvement in the torture of more than 25 people." 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.
Nabulsi, speaking from Texas, told the Observer of his shock. "I am feeling nauseous. It is really sarcastic. These people, the more they lie, the bigger the hole they are digging for themselves" and called the verdict an insult to justice.
Human Rights Watch
, an international rights watchdog group, criticised the United Arab Emirate's trial and called on the government to establish an independent body to investigate allegations of abuse by security personnel and other persons of authority.
The US state department has expressed concern over the verdict and said all members of Emirati society "must stand equal before the law" and called for a careful review of the decision to ensure that the demands of justice are fully met in this case.
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Issa bin Zayed Al Nayhan is the son of the late United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
President
President of the United Arab Emirates
The President is the Head of State of the United Arab Emirates. Because the current ruler of Abu Dhabi customarily also holds the presidency of the UAE, the office is de facto hereditary. The President is also Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Supreme Council and...
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; the brother of the present ruler of Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, the Emir Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces .-Political and business career:...
.
Issa is a prominent real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
developer in the UAE, being associated most recently with the Al Hekma Tower
Al Hekma Tower
The Al Hekma Tower is a 64-floor tower under construction along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Construction of the Al Hekma Tower started in 2006, while it was kept on hold in 2009 however the construction resumed in summer 2010....
(or "Wisdom Tower") planned in memory of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late President of the UAE with an image of him which will crown the top of the building.
In April 2009 a video tape of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
showed Issa mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods, wooden planks with protruding nails and running him over repeatedly with a car.
Torture incident
Issa is the subject of an assault, libel, and slander lawsuit brought on by businessman Bassam Nabulsi of Houston, Texas, a former long-term adviser to the Al Nahyan familyAl Nahyan family
Al Nahayan is one of the six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates, and are based in the capital Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Al Nahyan is a branch of the House of Al-Falahi , a branch of the Bani Yas tribe, and are related to the House of Al-Falasi, from which the ruling family of...
, filed on August 16, 2006 in District Court for the The Southern District of Texas Houston Division for Assault, Libel, and Slander.
Nabulsi alleges that he safeguarded the Issa's most important documents, including financial records, investment documents and videotapes, which showed Issa torturing a man with a cattle prod and a spiked plank. Nabulsi, who had smuggled the tape out of the UAE, was also suing Issa, alleging he was tortured by UAE police, after he refused to hand over videos to Issa after a disagreement. Nabulsi claimed his brother recorded the tapes as demanded by Issa, who, Nabulsi claimed, liked to watch them later. The lawsuit was dismissed on June 12, 2009 by 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. In the video, taken at some time in 2005, shows 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. 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." The victim also appeared to have been run over by a Mercedes SUV, have lighter fluid poured on his genitals and set alight, and had salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
poured on his wounds.
Lawyers stated the abuse began because Issa 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. The lawsuit, filed pursuant to the Torture Victims Protection Act, also lists Sheikhs Nasser bin Zayed Al Nahyan (since deceased), and Saif
Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan
HH Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is United Arab Emirates Minister of Interior and Deputy Prime Minister .. Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain and graduated with a B.S...
, as well as the Royal Family of bin Zayed Nahyan Partnership as defendants.
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 Issa. 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."
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
Jim McGovern
James Patrick "Jim" McGovern is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
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
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
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." 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. 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.
The controversy over the torture tape has delayed recertification of a US–UAE nuclear power cooperation agreement.
Abu Dhabi probe into allegations
Abu Dhabi reported on 29 April 2009 it would probe these allegations. Without acknowledging Issa by name, the statement said "the events depicted on the video appear to represent a violation of human rights".The incident occurred in 2004, 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 Issa during the entire ordeal.
It appeared the initial tape could be the beginning of the problem and it was reported on Sunday 3 May that the lawyer for Nabulsi, Issa's former partner, claimed to have "more than two hours of video footage showing Issa's involvement in the torture of more than 25 people." 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.
Trial and verdict
On 14 December 2009 Issa appeared in court and declared he was innocent. The trial ended on 10 January 2010, when Issa was cleared of the torture and rape of Mohammed Shah Poor. Though according to his lawyer, the court accepted that Issa had been a victim of a conspiracy, the judge in fact did not give a reason, as to why Issa was exonerated of responsibility for the abuse. The Lebanese-American brothers Ghassan and Bassam Nabulsi were both sentenced in absentia to five years for "drugging, recording and publishing a video and blackmail".Nabulsi, speaking from Texas, told the Observer of his shock. "I am feeling nauseous. It is really sarcastic. These people, the more they lie, the bigger the hole they are digging for themselves" and called the verdict an insult to justice.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, an international rights watchdog group, criticised the United Arab Emirate's trial and called on the government to establish an independent body to investigate allegations of abuse by security personnel and other persons of authority.
The US state department has expressed concern over the verdict and said all members of Emirati society "must stand equal before the law" and called for a careful review of the decision to ensure that the demands of justice are fully met in this case.
External links
- UAE Torture - Bassam Nabulsi's website