UAE sheikh filmed committing torture
This is an unpleasantly graphic story to quote extensively from, but the response of UAE authorities is relevant and disturbing:
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 incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior," the Interior Ministry's statement declared.
The Minister of the Interior is also one of Sheikh Issa's brother.
The government statement said its review found "all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department."
That someone born into immeasurable wealth and luxury could commit an act of such inhuman depravity over "a grain delivery" is beyond words. That this man is the son of the late Sheikh Zayed is, for all of us who loved and admired Zayed and greatly mourned his death, a exceedingly bitter pill to swallow.
Comments
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 incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior," the Interior Ministry's statement declared.
The Minister of the Interior is also one of Sheikh Issa's brother.
The government statement said its review found "all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department."
That someone born into immeasurable wealth and luxury could commit an act of such inhuman depravity over "a grain delivery" is beyond words. That this man is the son of the late Sheikh Zayed is, for all of us who loved and admired Zayed and greatly mourned his death, a exceedingly bitter pill to swallow.
Comments
153 Comments:
Thank goodness... finally the mainstream media did it..
old news...
Conspiracy theory, anybody?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g8-DEMtAE9q4i4ySQ0eV_qZefmRQD97O19M83
Possibly $1.6million wasted, or will globalisation win again?
So shaming and anonymous.
Old news indeed and as usual the royals are above the law.
If Obama has any decency his administration will condemn this. However, history teaches us that this will probably not be the case.
One of these days God willing there will be a reckoning and these most wicked of rulers & influential people will be executed in accordance to their evil nature.
It is acceptance of this type of behaviour that makes me ashamed to be an Arab.
okay okay, let me preempt a few comments. this happens in US also right...this also happens in UK right? where the torturers are brothers of Obama, and brothers of Gordon Brown. Also the police and army of US steps in to hold down the people with dogs while Obama himself shoves the prod up someone's ass. SO whats new. Happens anywhere in the world. So our UAE is still as clean and pristine as a virgin. next blog post please.
Ha ha - well the US did repeatedly waterboard a load of people in Guantanamo for a while and make then go 11 days without sleep, did set attack dogs on Iraqis in Abu Ghraib, and countries like the UK did help them in their rendering of suspects to places like Morocco to have their genitalia slashed... In fact the UAE can claim, as it does, that this Sheikh Issa is a "bad apple", something the US and its allies with their systemic abuse cannot claim.
This whole facing up to torture and connivance in torture by western countries is a real wake-up call. Of course one expects rampant abuse to occur in a feudal society like the UAE, where no one apart from the Emirati elite has any rights. So it's not that the UAE is "no worse" than the US/UK, it is sadly that the US/UK, with all their democratic hoohaa, are at root perhaps "no better" than a place like the UAE.
Can you really compare the torturing of terrorist suspects to that of a poor man delivering grain? Not that I'm defending the torturing...
that sheikh really likes his camels lol...
not the first time, nor the last time in UAE. going on for years.Read below link:
'You must come with us'
Syed Ali was in Dubai interviewing expatriate workers for a book. The day before he was due to leave, six strangers arrived at his flat and took him to the police compound. A 13-hour interrogation lay ahead ..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/nov/12/familyandrelationships.firstperson
This comment has been removed by the author.
Copy, paste and read:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/68005004-3010-11de-88e3-00144feabdc0.html
Yes we can has a whole different meaning in the gulf....
What a sad & pathetic state of affairs that all the people commenting on a liberal, modern & free UAE have to post as anonymous (I of course include myself too).
Wondering how the local press will spin this, if they report it at all.
UAE - the most hypocritical country in the world
http://news.google.com/news?um=1&ned=us&hl=en&ncl=1339203840&cf=all
Use this as a search term in google news:
Torture Tape Implicates UAE Royal Sheikh
I can't believe the FT killed the article.
To Anonymous 23 April, 2009 16:59:
Ha ha. Right on. You've completely captured the mentality of the UAE apologists with your comments (who probably can't see that you're making fun of them). Sometimes their comments are so idiotic that I can't tell if it's really just a smartass expat joking around.
I suppose it's not all that surprising that someone who had his every wish indulged throughout his life, who grew up without love and parental guidance, who was taught that he is above all others, and who never faced consequences for his actions would be capable of this type of behavior. What is surprising is that the UAE govt would have the audacity to not only let him off the hook, but then publicy justify why they did so. That takes some serious balls.
The ministry's defense for why he wasn't punished is so stupid it's laughable (as is most everything they do and say). "It's not a pattern of behavior" ... so I can commit a heinous crime and go unpunished as long as it's just a one-time thing? "He tortured him because the man stole from him, and both have mutually decided to not press charges" ... so it's cool if I torture anyone that wrongs me? As long as I have a good reason? And as long as I get the person to not press charges (probably by threatening them with more torture)?
Torture is bad. However, to those that compare this type of torture to that commited by the US, three points: (1) the US openly acknowledged and released details of what it did, (2) the victims were terrorist suspects, the majority of whom likely wanted to kill innocent people (not some poor guy selling grain), and (3) you can't compare tactics like sleep deprivation and waterboarding to what was done by Sheikh Issa. If you really believe torture is torture, then would you have no preference between being tortured at Guantanamo versus being tortured at the hands of Sheikh Issa?
lol @ Torture is bad.
"The incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior," the Interior Ministry's statement declared.Not that people would ever buy this line. But, these guys really know how to justify their actions while playing with words. Unless, it was coined by one of those creepy apologists that keep crawling out of the woodwork these days.
@ matt h2o 24 April, 2009 03:05
"Video of assault draws fire for UAE"
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8b58cc8c-3067-11de-88e3-00144feabdc0.html
Interesting to read this view, from The Washington Times.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/24/an-arab-counterexample/
"Congress should quickly approve the agreement when it is presented. The U.A.E. is a firm ally of the United States and deserves better treatment than it received in the Dubai Ports World fiasco in 2006. The 123 Agreement must be judged on its merits, not on the basis of accusations or plain prejudice."
I agree it is regrettable that "anonymity" rules the comments, so is the above a "counterexample"?
@desertbound - yeah, seems they took it down overnight to insert more 'allegedlys' and change the title from torture to assault. Presumably on legal advice.
Am surprised how little coverage this is generating elsewhere though.
@ matt h2o 24 April, 2009 11:14
Version 1:TV station airs UAE torture video
Version 2, 3 then final sanitised version #4:Video of assault draws fire for UAE
No wonder people, elsewhere, are confused as to why we continue living in UAE!
That this man is the son of the late Sheikh Zayed is, for all of us who loved and admired Zayed and greatly mourned his death, a exceedingly bitter pill to swallow.
I feel your anguish...lol
The incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior.
Sounds like they have got the hang of American official doublespeak.
It is acceptance of this type of behaviour that makes me ashamed to be an Arab.
Only that?
First of all , the information is VERY WRONG.
Sheikh Issa Al NAHYAN , cannot be the brother of Sheikh Mohammed Al MAKTOUM.They both are in different families , ruling different states . with very different views.
@ anonymous 24 April, 2009 14:48
1+1=3
Correct?
Sheikh Issa Al NAHYAN , cannot be the brother of Sheikh Mohammed Al MAKTOUM.They both are in different families , ruling different states . with very different views.No one said he was. They're referring to Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahayan, though why him and not the actual ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed is anyone's guess. Possibly they are confused with Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mo (bin Rash Al Mak etc).
Actually - is it accurate to describe Mo bin Zay as the "crown prince" of the "country"? He's the crown prince of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, but the national/federal presidency is not necessarily inherited, or specifically a royal title.
Well I'm pretty amazed even one locally based blog dared to cover this (nevermind that said blog is banned several times over)...
I'd like to get past the whole shocking nature of the incident itself, and the predictably apoligists who will try and point at the hypocrisy of the West and GITMO and yada yada in order to muddle the issue...
What's fascinating is observing the mechanics of the whole coverup of the issue. The local media won't go near it of course, even many local bloggers won't mention it, the government has tiptoed (blundered) around it in the international media and the article's already been banned and blocked through and through by the almighty proxies etc.
Yet inspite of all that the issue is still there, people all over the world are aware of it (locally and internationally) and the damage has been done.
What really gets my goat about this is the damage that has been done to the Al Nahyan name here - not 10 years ago the name was symbolic of Sheikh Zayed's wise and tolerant rule etc. etc.
Now, thanks to the hamhanded handling of these scandals (they gay sheikh incident in switzerland and now the cattle prod sheik) by the state/media the Al Nahyan name has horribly become associated with vice, perversion and corruption.
Had the heads of the Nahyan family been sligtly open about this, acknowledged it and slapped the black sheeps in the butt somehow they would have largely saved their own credibility by being honest and pursuing a morally responsible approach to dealing with this kind of stuff.
Instead we get to see them try and clumsily sweep it all under the rug which only makes them look dumber since they obviously don't know much about how the internet works.
To me that's the tradgedy - Sheikh Zayed's legacy has been trampled on here, the credibility of the country continues to go downhill and all the utopian talk of progress, transparency and progress seems quite silly.
The rulers really need to start acting like men and not a bunch of spoiled little boys if they want to be taken seriously - currently it's very obvious how things actually work here and it's quite depressing.
Sheikh Zayed would have kicked their butts and they know it - and if this had happened in the Maktoum family Sheikh Mohammed would have likely personally slapped these guys in teh face like they deserve.
An embarassment to all locals and to their country then, protected by their brothers.
I know the country is capable of being better than this. It's sad to see really.
funny, none of the local news papers wrote about this.
Surely there are many sick minded people all over world like this shiekh Issa. And surely all UAE shiekhs or nationals are not like this. But what is really terrible is the way the UAE Govt tries to cover up this crime. Instead of punishing this sick sheikh, monitoring him under a shrink. He needs to be locked up.
Exdubai.
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090419/NATIONAL/176068304/1001
Sheikh Mo responds.... hmmmmm
exdubai
To all those who decided to leave anonymous comments condemning posting this article or dismissing it as another round of UAE bashing:
Let me just succintly point out a few things:
Firstly, the uproar is not about the post but about the blatantly inane way in which the government has responded to it.
Secondly, I too understand that there has been an unprecedented amount of UAE bashing in the western media. This is mainly due to two major reasons....firstly the influx of capital from western countries in these times of worry to the region and most specifically Dubai coupled with the fact that Dubai is representative of the most cosmopolitan of societies. The second reason is something more easier to understand and that is the biased view of the western media in relation to Islam in general and the Middle & Near East in particular. Yes it is unfair....and we have been dealt the worst possible hand...but to come out with such inane and irresponsible statements concerning such barbaric actions is in itself counterproductive to the goals and the objectives that the UAE as a society and as a cosmopolitan center has set out to achieve.
In case anyone is wondering I am Muslim, I am a proud Pakistani and at the same time an equally proud UAE resident by birth and choice.
What we need to do is take a more in depth and objective look at ourselves as a society for the hand that we have been dealt is really skewed against us and to win this battle we need to play the game smartly.
In case anyone is wondering I am Muslim, I am a proud Pakistani and at the same time an equally proud UAE resident by birth and choice.
That's really interesting. It's good finding people with something to say.
@desertbound @matt h20 the changes in the FT piece were production related. the first piece went online without being approved by a lawyer. the second was the version published in the newspaper internationally. it is always shorter, because of space restraints, and the lawyer will read it more closely. noone was trying to censor or sanitise anything.
@ anonymous 25 April, 2009 19:07
Should we actually address you as "No Comment" or "Pink"?
Well "torture" in #1, became "assault" in #4, so I think sanitised is a fair description, but I am not of a legal disposition!
Irrespective, Issa's behaviour was disgusting and the authorities response was pathetic, a view, I think, we all share.
@ asimcool
Just curious as to why you're proud of being a UAE resident. This country doesn't give a rat's ass about you. You will never have any say or stake in this country, and you will always be treated like a second class citizen, minus the citizen status. As soon as you become unable to work, this country will spit you out. The fact that you were born here and may live the majority of your life here makes it all the more depressing.
But let's get back to the torture issue. This case isn't just about Sheikh Issa being completely insane, but it's also about the tiered legal system in the UAE, the favoritism/wasta that pervades this society, the hypocrisy and idiocy of the government, and the suppression of free speech (did you notice how there isn't any news of this within the UAE?). So again I ask why you would be proud of being a resident here?
hmm i wonder how they will finish this guy off, helicopter crash maybe...and yeah, why would he not be proud to be a resident here, im english and proud to live here? life isnt all about having citizenship of a country, and please, i have rights in england? maybe, but who gives a shit, do they work? not really? do i have rights in dubai, no none, but i love living here, i have a broader mind living here, compared to ignorant people i encounter when ever i go back to the uk, that you can not deny about living in the emirates, everyone gains such a broader view of life
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind
Breakfast reading from today's Observer, UK.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/26/manchester-city-torture-tape
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blindNo kidding?
Try telling that to the Saudi dudes in chop-chop square!
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the video is not the Sheikh, who is clearly deranged, but the complicity of a UAE police officer in torture.
And that is something you should all be very, very afraid about.
kyle, we are not saudi arabia.
I truly hate our so called "justice" system. I believe it is fundamentally flawed. what really boils the blood is the fact that say it follows the divine precepts of sharia...
here is the truth: Our so called laws were penned by Pan-Arabist Egyptians in the mid 60's and was the revised by the English colonizers and carried out by judiciaries "educated" in the lunatic kingdom nearby.
And all you Anonimi should stop being so damn melodramatic!! sure it warms the heart to see some Indo-Pakistani solidarity for a change.. but i am sure you realize that stuff like this isn't as commonplace as you are lead to believe.
It is truly a shame. That deranged lunatic would not have dared to do what he did if Sheikh Zayed was alive.
Believe me when I say this: things will change. The good in our people will prevail.
Whereas Dubai held the moral high grounds on the whole DP USA fiasco, this incident will now have political repercussion on that case and the place and rank that Arab nations ought to play on the International scene.
wonder what Mr. Qassemi of the Johann Hari fame will have to say in defense of this one.. !!
You can run but you can never hide - never!! The world will now begin to see and hear the real stories behind the spin.
Long live the free media and the internet - those that suffer in silence need you to give them voice !!!
is it not interesting that the same dubai apologists and supporters who generated 18o comments on the hari article have nothing to say beyond some 40 comments on this post?
as long as they can blame the west, and post some spin, they are all there. when it is something that cant be spun, they just go back to the woodwork like cockroaches, waiting for the next post to come in to spin.
reminds me of days on blogs one year back when discussions were on about the dubai bubble's impending burst. such suggestions were so badly laughed at by the dubai brigade, and now, I dont even see a single one of them active on the blog anymore. you can run....but you cant hide from truth.
run baby run - we still can hire finsbury.. we might even get a discount now that they handle the dubai account....
geez..when will these guys learn...?
Perhaps they have better things to do with their time than lurk in the comments section of blogs. ever thought of that?
I have to say.. you Hindustanis, Brits and Brit ass kissers who happen to be Indians are a funny lot.
You try very hard to negatively connect anything posted by SD to Dubai -what does the actions this lunatic have to do with Dubai?-. You relentlessly troll on the comment section of this blog with the same tired mumbo jumbo about burst bubbles and apologies... heck, you even use the same idiomatic expressions and talk in the same way!! I think i know whats going on here... Its a bad case of group think.
Whos running? and who is hiding?? we know that crap like this happens in the nepotistic power circles that plague our nation.
I bet you that the same results will happen when people think they are above the law, or when they entertain some illusion of superiority... like the last anonymous 16:09 who is misguidedly attempting to take the moral high ground to make some cheap talking points...
We knew about this story ages before the American Broadcast Company sent their leading investigative journalist to uncover the "truth".
I was going to say something that may further jeopardize my country's image. but there is lots of that going around these days.-I may email SD the story i have in mind if things get stale around here...
Until then, may the flaming continue!
God Bless you all.
locals are strange...
Hi Rashid:
I never said or compared Dubai to Saudi Arabia. There's no doubt, Saudi Arabia has a long way to go to catch up with what Dubai epitomizes - not in terms of structural absurdities - but in terms of an almost-open society even if they do it in a strangely balanced way.
As for my comment earlier today at 7:42, that was in response to that 'eye-for-an-eye' thing. I thought I'd best reference the capital punishment so generously enforced in Saudi Arabia, which I believe is more than slightly excessive.
I don't know much about Islam or the various tenets of sharia; the law that governs Islam. What I do know and that is from our friendship with our Moslem friends and the way they follow their religion. I find that amazing and I truly respect them from not trying to shove their beliefs or convictions down our throats. That is what I find most admirable. In my opinion, these are good people and I wish there were more like em', just to balance all the fundamentalism and aggressiveness that all those hardassed Islamists go about on a daily basis.
As for the Sheikh in Abu-Dhabi who's the focus in the electronic media, I have debated and put forth my views in another blog. I'll quote what I wrote in my closing remarks of that entry. Here goes:
'Now the thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to define between right & wrong and on most occasions use the God embedded in our conscience from wandering off the reservation.'As a devout Catholic, I stand by this line, which applies to every human being irrespective of their faith or beliefs.
I know, I've written a litany here but thanks for your patience.
Best, Kyle
Issa the torturer is obviously drunk in the video. His Arabic is slurred. It is also very revelling that he is referring to the police officer as "security". The video is just another sample to the vile and repulsive nature of the emiratis. They have the brains of children allowed to run amok without parental supervision. I feel sorry for emiratis because they will never reach the stage of a developed civilization.
Any guesses to where the Americans are going to outsource torture now!!May be the Sheikh can teach Torture 101 to CIA
@ anonymous of 27 April, 2009 00:20
You mean the people of the middle east still did not teach all they know to Americans? It seems that ME people are bad teachers considering that torture goes on in all ME countries from Algeria through Egypt to emirates and Iran.
Or may be it's the Americans who are really bad students, with their inane horror of torture preventing them from learning it from older cultures. They are not civilized like Chinese or people of the ME, you know.
Why was this story revealed now?? is it by any chance because USA is revealing more photos of it's 1-bad-apple tortures in Abu G in Baghdad?? and they want to take a little weight off of the Bush admin.
@ FB 27 April, 2009 06:27
This story wasn't revealed just now. It broke almost a year ago. After trying unsuccessfuly to serve Sheikh Issa with court papers time after time, they decided to release the video to the world. It's the only way there could be progress on this case.
If this does take the weight off of the Bush administration torture fiasco, it's quite well deserved as this makes torture under Bush look like a walk in the park. Sure, this torture wasn't condoned by the UAE government, but it wasn't condemned either. In fact, it went completely unpunished. That's what this whole case is really about ... how the legal system in the UAE is a joke and everything is based on wasta.
By the way, I don't think anyone is trying to let Bush off easy. He's being villified as one of the worst presidents in US history. As for the photos of US torture in Abu Ghraib, didn't that happen a couple of years ago? I don't think that's why this story is gaining prominence. But just wondering, when do you think it would be appropriate to talk about this case? Once everyone has stopped talking about torture in the US? Or better yet, should we wait for journalists in the UAE to cover this? Ha ha ha.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/unitedarabemirates/5225720/Abu-Dhabi-ruling-family-linked-to-torture-video.html
How many western journalists will be left in UAE?
fucking wankers. One of the reasons I left. The only way I'm ever going back to that hellhole is if we do to people like them what they did in France. chop chop.
Good Riddance!
Woman makes cup of tea after being shot in head...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5177344/Woman-makes-cup-of-tea-after-being-shot-in-head.html
Oil is oil... no one expects the 'civilized' world to come and set right the evils that plague most of these places..
if ABC decides to do a feature on saudi or kuwait, they would have to run an hourly mini-series daily for a fortnight.
Nothing is going to change.. that said, it feels right that no longer will the rest of the world fall for the false 'spin' and 'gloss' that some of these countries and its leaders try so hard to potray...
Believe me when I say this: things will change. The good in our people will prevail.
Since 1971, the 'good' in their people has been quite happy with exploitation, dictatorship, corruption, and apartheid. As those systems have proven lucrative, and in the absence of any humanitarian standards, their good people will continue fattening themselves on them.
Let look at some numbers shall we...
Human Development Index of the U.A.E.
31st on the world.
India?
132nd
Here are your options: you either put up, shut up or ship out.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/
enough of this, we are all brothers and sisters! We all belong to same family(humanity) and live in the home(earth).
lol.. Human Development Index..
Irony here.. This index's development was greatly influenced by Dr. Amartya Sen... err.. Nobel Prize Winner from err.. India..
As someone earlier said 'While you and your parents were eating and shitting in the same little tent by the coast.." (love that quote) this man was figuring out ways to measure your development from being a nomad on a camel to becoming one riding a mercedes...
Your piddly little bidet of a village was using the Rupee till a few years back.. so much for development.. ..don't get us started...
the fake ipl player blog rocks !
...just in case you guys get bored here..
Ripped shamelessly from wikipedia.. atleast copy the information right.
Raju did not develop the HDI, Khan and You colonizing master did.
Here is what indians do for a fun after defecating on the street corners and eating grass...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrAL-SG-9NI
So much for the noble prize... 1 our of a gazillion chance.
and you know why the traffic in dubai is the way it is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfLNqjh4j0
guys, let us stick to the subject shall we...dont fall for the spinners who are very good at abusing others so that it becomes a mud slanging match and everyone forgets we started with sheikh al camel bin prod. part of PR spin strategy, believe me.
indians shit on roads, eat grass..has one billion population...all this is known and well documented. tell something new. and pleasss...no statistics about dubai or uae..it is just a hotel with about 800,000 emiratis. dont throw these in a global context where a country takes on a different meaning. at best you would classify as a football stadium.augmat
Oh really now?
Since when did the comments section of a prejudice blog become an arena for constructive debate?
you would not know if it hit you in your face, would you. Since when did guys in the region ever allow any debate? on anything? construction...yes i can see that.
How did this go from a man being brutally abused, by another human, recorded on video, to two children fighting in the play sandpit?
Please folks, is it not possible to stay on subject?
what is the point in debating with racist bigots?
every time we try to voice our opinion, like Mr. Al Murr above. a narrow minded prick comes along and hijacks what has been said to further his/her racist agenda.
AND THIS HAPPENS EVERYTIME A LOCAL SPEAKS OUT.
Where is the f***ing balance people???
You want your voices to be heard by the people who can make a difference but you choose to be part of the problem instead of allowing for productive discourse.
now you make me all weepy and contrite...and sentimental about how everyone piled on to mrs al murr.
incidentally, he spews gems like this "I have to say.. you Hindustanis, Brits and Brit ass kissers who happen to be Indians are a funny lot. "
very productive, and balanced i would say. take a flying fuck, if anyone, local or international, raises any point worth listening to, people listen to it. rubbish generates rubbish, sorry words and thoughts cant be made to wear dish dash so that silence will ensue.
I apologize for my being off topic and my possibly harsh words.
I as a local am ashamed that things like this happen in my country. What is more embarrassing is that bastard love child belongs to the same family that rules over us. shame on him. This is not the legacy of our founding fathers.
My hope is that my people would wake up and rise to abolish the obsolete system of stewardship by "tribal elders" AKA Sheikhs.
We had no want for Dubai to become what it is, We never wanted to be a "player in the world arena". We didnt want to have the biggest, baddest, tallest crap in the world. No one had consulted us, or asked our permission... Our hereditary lands are now trampled upon by euro trash and indians while we are slowly being pushed into the margins of this constructed concrete jungle.
regardless of all that. what has been done is done. only time will tell where will we go from here as a society.
SD, say something...
Man, that guy would need some serious therapy after taking all that crap... by the end of the video he has all but given up on resisting, or crying in pain. that is very sad, no measure of compassion would repair the damage... this may even sound strange, but i am half-expecting he became better for it.
Gives the term "royal pain in the a**" a whole new meaning...
Hey, does anyone know how i could access the archives on this blog?
Thanks.
T.O.
okay, sorry, i found them!
T.O.
And that is really funny anonymous from 27 April, 2009 19:39.
You mean "you never wanted", "no one had consulted us", "we are pushed into the margins"?
And of course you did protest, loudly, right?
Of course you prohibited these euro-trash and indians from trampling your land, from working at your mansions, from working everywhere you yourself didn't want to work because the work is dirty?
You also made to the street in your hundreds if not thousands to demonstrate against this trash - people who sweep your streets, who clean your houses, who work at construction buildings, right?
You also don't like being rich,getting money from euro-trash, right?
I am so sad for you that I can't stop crying right now.
Really.
Yup.
For god's sake - grow up. This is nothing to do with India or Arabia or which is better or more or less "developed".
This is about a privileged, wealthy, presumably educated man committing a despicable act of torture with impunity. In a country that jails people for accidentally bouncing a cheque because their employer hadn't bothered to pay them.
We had no want for Dubai to become what it is, We never wanted to be a "player in the world arena". We didnt want to have the biggest, baddest, tallest crap in the world. No one had consulted us, or asked our permission...Up to there I'm with you. I sympathise with you.
Our hereditary lands are now trampled upon by euro trash and indians while we are slowly being pushed into the margins of this constructed concrete jungleAnd then you lose me. You didn't need to expand it with this, it just sounds racist. There's plenty of trashy people in Dubai - Europeans, South Asians, expat Arabs... and local Arabs. Emiratis.
If I was you I'd be more worried about your own countrypeople trampling over things, since if and when all the expats go, they'll be the ones staying on.
you know you cannot write the destiny of a nation guided by confusion. as emiratis you have to make up your mind where you want to go, and what you want to become. you cannot have it all. if you want a local market for products, and for your schools, and your hospitals, and your construction, it will only come from expats. so you cannot live of the fat of the expats, and then crib about your country being trampled by them. i, and my people would never allow expats to take over our country. we do our own work, and we run our country. so if you need to control your country's destiny, you need to stop talking, and start working. life is not all money for nothing, and chick's for free. if you had any pride in your nation, you will throw people like us out, and take over its future. or else give the expats who build your country residential rights. but for my life, i have no idea why anyone would want residential or citizen rights in emirates. dont be misled by some country-less expat cribbing about citizenship in emirates. they are anyway no hopers.
hey all you anonymous folks,shiek issa is not only a bad apple but a sick man sciopath for what he did to this afgan grain dealer.He has shamed his family and the wider muslim public. i agree with some you the responses from the powers that be is a total let down wilful downplaying for excusing his erratic behavior an utter disregard for the truth. Disingenuously protecting this fool that has brought shame on his family famed for being conservative folk yet humble in many ways.what this man has done is great blow to the AL NAHYAN. particularly thier dislike those who engage in gratuitous and offensive misrepresentation of their traditions and character.the AL NAHYAN themselves must be
confused flabbergasted by his actions of mindless cruelty.even if he's left off the hook his brothers will scrutinise his actions with even greater vigilance from now on.his father allah rest his soul was an utterly dominant figure in this country
famed for his kindness,would take decisive and immediate action agianst this man who finds
lavish lifestyle is hard to handle.
He has shamed his family and the wider muslim public.
You mean inconvenienced. His sin was in getting caught and putting the family in an awkward situation.
even if he's left off the hook his brothers will scrutinise his actions with even greater vigilance from now on.
That's a relief.
Now the US is flexing its muscle against the UAE and stalling the nuclear deal between both countries because of the UAE's treatment of the torture case: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/04/29/uae.nuke.deal/index.html. It's about time someone put these third-world thugs in their place and made them acknowledge that their treatment of this case was a complete farce. Now because of their initial cover-up and the ensuing outrage when it was discovered, the UAE government has only raised the world's awareness to its complicity in Sheikh Issa's torture sessions. Way to go, guys! This is really going to go a long way in showing the world what a modern country this is.
If the US presses this, maybe the UAE will cave and admit their error. If they end up jailing this goon, how much do you want to bet that he'll be pardoned during next Ramadan?
@ anonymous 30 April, 2009 07:59
Slowly, slowly catch a monkey.
The National, UAE today in their hard copy, page 5, has printed this story:
"Rights body reviews abuse video claims"
Byline:
"Officials say the human rights of an Afghan man may have been vioduring the alleged incident now under investigation"
Progress is nowhere near as rapid as many wish it to be, but believe me this is real progress.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/57db045e-34e7-11de-940a-00144feabdc0.html
(If sceptical check above link)
By the way in 90 days transfer of Nuclear Technology will be allowed between USA and UAE.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN2954369720090429
Official Statement of the Human Rights Office, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department
2009-04-29 21:06:03
Abu Dhabi, 29 April 2009 (WAM) - The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates guarantees a number of fundamental rights including those set forth in Article 25 providing that all persons are equal before the law, without distinction in regard to race, nationality, religious belief and social status.
The Human Rights Office (HRO) of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has viewed the contents of a video containing graphic scenes of physical abuse that has been widely circulated online and reported in international media.
The Government of Abu Dhabi unequivocally condemns the actions depicted on the video.
The HRO of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department will conduct a comprehensive review of the matter immediately and make its findings public at the earliest opportunity.
Based on the statement made by the UAE Ministry of Interior, the HRO of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department understands that the matter depicted on the video was resolved between the two parties and that no criminal charges were brought by either party.
However, the HRO believes that the events depicted on the video appear to represent a violation of human rights and therefore these events should be fully reviewed in their own right.
WAM/MAB
http://wam.ae/servlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1240977958725&pagename=WAM%2FWAM_E_Layout&parent=Query&parentid=1135099399852
THE END.
UAE and its law enforcers will be looked at just like "Baathist regime and Saddam family"
unlike the Saddam tyranny nothing like this have ever come out!
An act like this in one evening has done more damage to UAE than the damage done by any country over period of decades.
UAE will NEVER have its HEAD up ever again!!!!
ITS OVER.
The torture by Sheikh Issa Bin Zayed Al Nayhan is disgusting and video taping it shows the ignorance and soul-less character of this man.
The UAE should banish this man and member of the royal family to a poor and not-so-developing country and let him starve.
I've contacted President Obama, Sec. Hillary Clinton and the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi. They need to take action immediately and impose restrictions on future aid and nuclear agreements.
Yes, one member of the UAE Royal Family can destroy international relations for his government.
anon above says:
"The UAE should banish this man and member of the royal family to a poor and not-so-developing country and let him starve."
I am sure you will not get this this, but living in a so called rich and over the top so called developed , non starving country like UAE is the biggest punishment that a very large percent of people can ever wish for. Does not matter if you are from america or uganda, being in a rich country does not mean having a rich life. uae is rich means only one thing, there are rich emiratis living there. most of the people who work there are anything but rich. and uae has one of the most vacuous, silly, empty lifestyles i've ever come across. and living in poor countries as defined by you, in africa, asia, or elsewhere can be so much more fulfilling for the mind and soul. i am sure you got none of the above.
Video that was smuggled out of the UAE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EetQPS3_NbQ
Ahmed Ahmed said it best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3OhBlIvtbY
I wouldn't wish this sort of treatment on my worst enemy. I hope this Sheikh is permanently denied entry to the US (and the rest of the civilized world). No more weekend trips to Houston on Emirates Super Jumbo, Sheiky boy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EetQPS3_NbQ
Proof that money cannot buy class.
http://www.uaetorture.com/index.php?page=photos-of-sheikh-issa-and-his-projects
very old news, and this isnt the first!
@ Lawrence of Arabia said... 01 May, 2009 09:48
So I folowed the link and sent you an email, return receipt said delivered to Lawyers Simon and Buzbee of txattorneys.com , if I do a search may I find your are representing the plaintiff, yet here you hide behind anonymity?
" When you are looking for an attorney, you deserve the best. Tony Buzbee has been repeatedly recognized as one of the very best in Texas. Call today for a free, initial consultation." A quote from their site.
Is this really the correct way for Lawyers to behave, promotion through anonymous blogs?
money is the root of all evil
What a contrast to the Sheikh Issa video!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8022744.stm (BBC)
The vision of Sheikh Zayed carried on by his sons, Khalifa and Mohammed, possibly destroyed by a group of thugs, led by Issa and Nabulsi!
Mr. Rupert Neil Bumfrey,
Neither the plaintiff nor the attorney posted the link. I am a former UAE resident who found the link through a Google search.
Based on the climate of fear and intimidation in the UAE, and for the protection of people I know in the UAE, it is easy to see why I do not wish to reveal my identity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkqb4bUgJ9c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkqb4bUgJ9c
Very Nice!
First a faggot in Switzerland and now a saddam hussain wanne-be.
I'd love to see sheikh mo video while counting the publics money from radars, salik and other bullshit rules he started coming up with.
Anonymous (02 May, 2009 18:39),
That is a very unfair comment to make considering that the Al Nahyan and Al Maktoum families are two distinct entities.
Many countries have toll roads. I don't see the connection of torture and Salik.
Finsbury is going to get a bumper bonus this year ! LOL
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/05/02/dcl.nasr.uae.torture.cnn
"Not a pattern of behaviour." ya right!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/03/uae-sheikh-accusation-assualt-tape
first i hope this sheikh issa spent the rest of his life in Afghanistan's jail by torturing an Afghan man for him to see what torture is all about by his fellow Afghan inmates, than this video tape will be a good listen to the rest of the UAE rullers.or they better stop building all these nice things in UAE because noone will go there.
(Anonymous 02 May, 2009 23:12)
For your info, sheikh mo sends his men to do his dirty work for him.
You need to go back and see what he has done to some people that he ruined their reputations in the newspapers as fraud and other fabricated stories, just because they(Lawyer, Minister, Professor etc...) opposed him.
Those sheikhs are all the same shit, but in a different mask infront of the media.
being caught seems to be far more hurtful to the powers that be than the actual act itself !
I believe this is attempted murder in civilised countries, obviously not the UAE
Tell Congress to vote against the US-UAE Nuclear deal. Seeing the amount of damage that one nut can do with a cattle prod, a nailed plank and an SUV, imagine the damage if this nut someday becomes a presidential nut...a Nuclear armed presidential nut.
Cost of some 800 human lives less than an apartment cost.
Bangladesh child jockeys get cash
Robot camel jockey in the UAE
The UAE banned child camel jockeys in 2002
A delegation from the United Arab Emirates has paid $1.43m in compensation to hundreds of former child camel jockeys in Bangladesh.
The money will be distributed by the Bangladesh home ministry to 879 former jockeys who will each receive between $1,000 to $10,000, officials say.The UAE says the money will help the children to re-integrate into society.
....In 2005 researchers in Qatar said that the risk of serious injury, disability and death was "shockingly high" among child jockeys in camel races in Gulf countries.
The researchers looked at 275 boys, many younger than nine and some as young as five, who were treated for camel racing injuries.
They discovered that before a race, child riders sometimes went without food for a week, not as punishment but to keep their weight down, meaning they were often malnourished.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8033752.stm
still any claims out there for the world's most civilised country?
off topic, but just an example o some brilliant piece of government sponsored misleading of readers by Gulf News.
http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Immigration_and_Visas/10310347.html
UAE to issue multiple-entry visas for property owners from June 1
By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter
My problem with the above report is, no where does it mention the real conditions to qualify for this:
1. To avail this you cannot work in UAE
2. The income required is shown as 10000 dhs, making you think that if you have a salary of 10000 dhs in UAE, you can get this. This is what they want all the poor expats think. The reality is, the owner needs to have an income not less than 10000 dhs from their home country, not UAE. You are not allowed to work with this visa. in short, you need to own a minimum 1 mil dhs property, and also have income from outside UAE to the tune of 10000 dhs.
Now it makes me wonder, why would they not write the truth, and just about the time lots of people are leaving with their families for summer vacation with plans of never coming back.
الأعراب أشد كفرا
Translation of the above words from the holy Koran, may come as a surprise to you : “And the A’arab are the worst in Kufr [ faithlessness ] and hypocrisy”. The A’arab are the nomadic Arabs. This is the judgment of the Koran of the Muslims itself concerning the Bedouin nomadic mentality.
Dont bring up the quran or islam because it preaches violence in all its forms. Islam and violence go hand in hand. From being allowed to beat your wife to killing all none muslims. Violence or jihad is at the essence of islam.
Royal Sheikh Detained by UAE Over Torture Tape Allegations
ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7538363&page=1
OMG poor issa, under "HOUSE ARREST"! Wow, I've seen those palaces, well let the punishment fit the crime :(
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/05/09/uae.torture/index.html
Sheikh reportedly detained pending torture investigation
There is no human rights in UAE, A sheikh can make changes n edit in country law at anytime, police never catch local citizens, if ever they catch they released afterawrd a year or few months only even any kind of crime, they use to treat as slave to Asian Bangladeshes, Indian and Pakistanis. Do you know club dancer girls stay as prisoners after their club duty hours until club opening. So I have a question to the worldwide Human Rights Organization that where is the human rights in UAE? UAE is a jail itself for the expatriates. All expatriates passport are holding by local companies, A local or police man can hit on the face of any Indian without asking. They really treat others like dogs. Many Western male / female and filipinos got rape by local and all those local who rape are free, they just spend few months in jail. Therefore court always didn't mentioned criminals full name to the media. Worldwide tv channel never show any crime report on UAE, like usually they show on UK, India and Pakistan. I just want to say F.c.u.k Dubai - UAE.
Secret Dubai, is there a better podium for discussion than the comment section of your blog?
It may not be my place, but i am assuming you wouldn't want to hear anymore... a few years of life here would tend to set ones perspective.
My call is not specific to the author of this blog. I am extending this call to reason for any who wish to simply talk about these issues.
But i am at a loss at what would the best way to conduct this. I am certain it needs to be done in real time... and i think it should not be in traditional thread-forum format...
So, Any Ideas?
Never forget there are good and bad in every culture.
Dubai Police Chief Looks to Censor Offensive Web Content
(Staff Reporter)
12 May 2009 Khaleej Times
DUBAI - Dubai Police Chief, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim said he would pursue censorship plans with the UAE telecom regulators to censor 500 search terms deemed offensive in a bid to block access to certain internet sites.
“Although no progress is made yet, we will pursue the issue over the next two weeks,” said the Police Chief on the sidelines of the Arab Media Forum on Monday.
The move, initiated by Dubai Police last month, is intended to protect the youth in UAE from ‘pornographic’ and ‘anti-religious’ content on video sharing site YouTube which is owned by Google. “These (500) terms open the door into the smut in the cyberspace bringing in devastating effects on the young generation as the studies had shown,” Tamim said in a statement published earlier by state news agency WAM.
SO IT IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PARENTS OR ANYONE ELSE IN UAE THAT THEIR YOUNG IS GETTING CORRUPTED, AND BECOMES SODOMISTS, RAPISTS AND DRUGGIES. IT IS ALL TO DO WITH SOMETHING CALLED U TUBE.
As part of my new Celebrating Modern-Day Slavery tour in Dubai, does anyone have any facts or figures about the number of deaths per famous building? And for the press kit, do you have any numbers showing how much was saved per project by fleecing South Asian workers?
Those who supply sets of facts will be offered complementary dinner at their favorite hotel and one of our new tote bags.
"Torture video may boost Houston man’s suit"Interesting slant, and comments, to this story about "His Masters Dog", becoming a rabid wolf.
They seemed to suit each other, well!
"Who is caught is known as thief"
Thank you SD for this blog Your work is the only free media outlet in GCC
I would love to be anon as "there are two to three satelite pointing towards the stars and hundreds, maybe thousands pointed towards us:
Take care
queerty.com/tag/sheikh-falah-bin-zayed-bin-sultan-al-nahyan/
For the locals and people who can read arabic that have no idea what's going in the UAE
It's about the torturing and the replacement of the ministers and more
img268.imageshack.us/img268/1681/abtms.jpg
We're a top tier payday loan and quick cash advance provider.
Will someone pls translate what Anon @ 18 May, 2009 04:30 has shown in Arabic?
Glory to Abu Dhabi
TDIC denies Saadiyat Island report claims
Charlie Hamilton
* Last Updated: May 19. 2009 1:09PM UAE / May 19. 2009 9:09AM GMT. The National
ABU DHABI // Foreign labourers working on the multi-billion dirham Saadiyat Island project are subject to "gross exploitation" sometimes equivalent to "forced labour", according to a report published today by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Work on the colossal project to turn the island into the heart of Abu Dhabi’s arts and cultural quarter began shortly after 2005.
UAE government officials were praised for improving workers’ housing conditions and for efforts to ensure labourers are paid on time but rights abuses remained commonplace, according to the report.
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), which is overseeing the project, categorically denied claims made by the report’s authors, including allegations that it discouraged contractors from co-operating with HRW investigators.
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090519/NATIONAL/905199989/1133
Pfft
Over-wealthy brat is torturing people because he was born into wealth? I'd like to see how quick he is to man up when he's not such a big shot in the region. One minute outside of his little crystal palace and I'm sure anyone would string him up by his throat.
These animals are the reason the Arab world is so irreparably doomed. Arabs always take the beating from the illiterate and wasteful savages that have power. As far as i'm concerned, he's not the sheikh of anything and he should be treated accordingly
Gulf News Editorial comment on the human rights abuse report by HRW about Abu Dhabi Labour abuse:
"We would have supported the group's efforts to reveal, for example, the inhumane treatment of more than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, or the two-year-old Israeli siege of Gaza, which almost suffocated all forms of life on the strip.
HRW continues to ignore the fact that the UAE is an open society (they are able to hold regular press conferences here)"
THE FACT IS THIS IS THE WAY THE LEADING NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL RESPONDS, TO LABOUR ABUSE BY A GOVT BODY. THEY ARE IN FACT COMPARING LABOURERS, BROUGHT ON PROMISE TO WORK FOR A DECENT SALARY, TO PEOPLE CAUGHT IN A WAR ZONE. AND GULF NEWS'S GREATEST CLAIM TO FREEDOM IS, YOU CAN HOLD PRESS CONFERENCES IN UAE APPARENTLY. GOD! WHAT A BUNCH OF NITWITS. THE LABOURERS ARE NOT FROM PALSESTINE, THEY DONT GIVE A JACKSHIT ABOUT IT. THEY HAVE MORE IMPORTANT CONCERNS, LIKE WORKING TO EAT FOOD. AND NOT DEPENDING ON THE REST OF THE WORLD TO FEED THEM FREE TITBITS WHILE THEY CARRY FLAGS.
poor Dubai...it's caught between anglo-american bull and abudhabi+mideast reality
Why isn't there a new posting? It's almost a month now? Has the site owner been sent to prison too?
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=7632925&page=1
It's moving... also in London papers... more expected with press conference soon.
Parabéns o blog está show de bola.
Abraços.
SD should really work on a posting schedule...
i dont know if this is true, but i have head that that sheikh has silenced SD.
Please verify.
The U.A.E. is a firm ally of the United States and deserves better treatment than it received in the Dubai Ports World fiasco in 2006. The 123 Agreement must be judged on its merits, not on the basis of accusations or plain prejudice.
Berkey Filters
yes you're right this blog is terribly prejudiced...the uae is property of the usa
well the comments are going through... and the site hasn't been pulled down... so... maybe the IPs for comments are being watched... ?
WHO IS GOING TO PUNISH THIS GREAT "SHEIKH"
I WILL TELL YOU WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO. THEY WILL GIVE MILLIONS OF DIRHAMS TO THAT AFGHANI VICTIM AND WILL ASK THE AFGHANI TO FORGIVE HIM OFFICIALLY. SO NO CRIMINAL CASE WILL BE EXISTED AGAINST THE SHEIKH. THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO.
I'm here and alive.
No one has "shut me down".
No one is monitoring IP addresses of comments (unless the UAE Men In White have done a secret deal with Google/Blogger).
I've just been somewhat awol, and exceedingly lazy. Will get a new post up soon ;)
Reality...
There is no perfect place or perfect society. If you are going to focus on the dark side of the UAE, you will have to be fair and bring up the dirt of the US and other Western governments. You can, for example, focus on the status of the prisoners in Guantanamo, and how women are considered as sex objects in western culture. I don't have to remind you of discrimination and racism in the UK, France, Germany, and the US. Don’t tell me everyone is equal. I have been there and was screamed at in the street because of my color. In the UAE or any Arab country, western citizens or others are treated with respect. There are sick people here, and every where else.
I think it's a great step forward that this story has come out. Hopefully it will lead to reforms of the rule of law. The UAE has excellent laws to protect people, but oftentimes they don't get enforced.
It's a shame that there are so many anonymous posts on your blog and that they are so aggressive.
Do you think they are afraid of being tracked down by the authorities? It's a shame because it's not in the spirit of blogging not to be able to get to know the person you're talkign to and often not even know for sure which "anonymous" is the same person.
Watch the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11RgN5r0Qb8
Just saw a picture of sheikh rashid bin mohammed al maktoum cutting of the leg of a live zebra.
I know these assholes will never be punished but the word needs to get out on the terrible crimes your "superiors" are committing!
It is a common fact that Royals think and most ways are above the law!
It's all common in the sheik land.
eddie brown
------------
Free Satellite TV
btw....the statement made by ministry officials that this was "not a pattern of behaviour" but an isolated incident....is also WRONG.
Check out this link about video footage depicting atleast 25 other cases where Shiekh Issa tortured business partners and employees.
This is a systematic and very common practice in arab countries, where dictators are only exposed by "the west" when they fall out of favor. Otherwise, they're affectionately known as 'Monarchs'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/03/uae-sheikh-accusation-assualt-tape
absolutely horrendous. saw this first on cnn.com. some are saying this video was doctored, but these things are very common in arab nations. no human life value at all. so sad...
this is ridiculous, however nothing surprising. this video was on CNN asap and i wonder how much of this goes on...
it was all over CNN. what a shame
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