ABC News Exclusive: Torture Tape Implicates UAE Royal Sheikh

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

Police in Uniform Join In as Victim Is Whipped, Beaten, Electrocuted, Run Over by SUV

A video tape smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates shows a member of the country's royal family mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails.

A man in a UAE police uniform is seen on the tape tying the victim's arms and legs, and later holding him down as the Sheikh pours salt on the man's wounds and then drives over him with his Mercedes SUV.

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.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7402099&page=1

[Bicoastal]

1. Those savages. Good thing we live in a civilized nation that doesn't do stuff like that, huh?

sigh...:(

[Robb]

2. I miss the moral high ground. nt

[sabra]

3. puts things in perspective :-(

[tk2kewl]

4. well, it wasn't a pattern of bad behavior, just a bad day I guess

:eyes:

[The Stranger]

14. Did Judge Jay Bybee write a memorandum justifying it as legal?

Or was this just a crime by a demented and sick nutcase?

[Ian David]

21. Yeah, I had the same thought. I bet he and Bush watched the tape together and laughed. n/t

[pattmarty]

33. More like jerked off together. Sick fucks!!!

[mbperrin]

5. "The incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior,"

So he's just a first offender? Heck, let him go, then. Just youthful hijinks. He'll mature.

Look forward, not back. Of course, the guy who got run over, hmmmm......he probably suffers from a biased point of view, so who cares what HE thinks?

[derby378]

6. Okay, that is SERIOUSLY fucked up

But Sheikh Issa is supposed to be one of our friends! With friends like this...

[Soylent Brice]

7. the company you keeps says a lot about you...

...as the saying goes.

[sabrina 1]

43. Well, we do have some things in common with him

I'd like to ask Hannity how he feels about this story as he was ranting away again today about how valuable a tool torture has been. Otoh, he has never missed a chance to remind us of how 'savage' these Muslims/Arabs are. I imagine he subscribes to the idea that it's okay if you're American! Be interesting to see how he'd wiggle out of that one.

[SurfingScientist]

8. Holy crap! This prick's lawyer is Bushie's lawyer...

... click on the link; last page of the story says that this "Bristow" guy who represents that a-hole was also *'s lawyer in the Florida 2000 recount case.

:mad:

[HopeHoops]

12. That shocks you?

They LOVE shit like this!

[Wizard777]

24. It's Baker Botts and Brown. I don't know if it's the same Brown of Kellogg Root & Brown (KBR)

It's interesting they left Brown out of the report.

[bushmeister0]

49. The "Baker" is James Baker, the Bush family's Consigliare.

This is the same bunch who defended the Saudis against the 9/11 victims.

Remember, the story about one of our best chances to kill OBL thwarted by UAE family members being too close?

Globalsecurity.org:

"Some U.S. government reports suggest that the United States lost a clear opportunity to kill bin Laden because he was too close to U.A.E. officials traveling in his entourage – officials Clinton security adviser Richard Clarke may have thought were too important to harm.

On Feb. 8, 1999, the Pentagon and the CIA were preparing a military strike on a luxury hunting camp in the desert south of Kandahar, Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden had been sighted.

There were problems, however.

Satellite imagery revealed the presence of a military aircraft belonging to the U.A.E., and 'policymakers were concerned about the danger that a strike would kill an Emirati prince or other senior officials who might be with bin Laden or close by,' according to the 9/11 Commission report."

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2006/060412-us-obl.htm

Nice bunch. Our good friends.

[HopeHoops]

9. Oh, well if it isn't "part of a pattern of behavior" then it was just some college prank or such.

Geeze - how could you come up with a dumber statement than that?

AAARRGGGHH!!

[Hannah Bell]

10. That shocks me. seriously. i don't doubt that every nation has something like this going on,

but i figured lower-level people did it - not members of the ruling families directly. & i thought i was cynical. gad.

[tblue37]

34. Rank has its privileges. nt

[w4rma]

11. Time to invade the UAE. Isn't this why the neocons said we needed to invade Iraq? (nt)

[No Elephants]

22. They gave so many reasons, it's hard to keep track. First, it was bc of Al Qaida and 911. Then, it

was WMD. Then, it was bc Saddam was the baddest man on the planet. Then it was to bring freedom to the Middle East, for their sake and for our safety.

After that, I can't remember what they said. My brain was just fried. Something about stability maybe?

[VaYallaDawg]

23. Actually I think it was WMD a couple of times.

They would recycle that excuse occasionally when everything else flopped. But I'm like you, my brain fried on the whole thing so long ago - maybe it's just best not to think about it too much.


What am I saying?? That's what those crooks WANTED us to do!!

[90-percent]

13. ahh nostalgia

makes me long for my frat days in college where we used to tie up and run over the pledges, drag them down the interstates by rope, slicing them open and salting the wound.

Ahh, the innocence of lost youth.

-90% jimmy

[Bragi]

15. Odd this story breaking now...

This looks an attempt by culpable parties in the CIA to get out the message that "others are worse than us".

Is this an early dump from the War Criminal Defence Team now gathering in Langley?

Inquiring minds...

- B

[stillcool]

16. Yup...a little bait and switch in the attempt..

to manage perception. Typical..'look over here!'

[stubtoe]

19. Kinda looks that way, doesn't it?

Only problem is, the UAE is one of our "friends" in the middle east. This'll backfire.

[Uncle Joe]

20. That's what I was thinking.

A rapist doesn't seem so bad if you only compare him to a murdering rapist.

[Solly Mack]

41. That was my first thought

[tomm2thumbs]

17. The salt was to halt infection, he tried to drive him TO the doctor - totally, really

and he was using the plank to REMOVE nails that had gotten embedded in the man's skin, which worked wonderfully, and the cattle prod was simply a cell phone that had short-circuited as he was trying to call an ambulance for the poor man. A misunderstanding really...

Egad, I just swallowed the Dick Cheney excuse digest - someone do the heimlich maneuver on me before I choke.

[Sultana]

18. I think I saw that video on Youtube last yr

Someone has described the UAE ruling (not royal) families as being like a mafia, they own everything.

Another al Nahyan who thinks he is above the law
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7464804.stm

Too much Inbreeding...

[Wizard777]

25. If they have tortured an American citizen. We can't let that slide.

[TNOE]

29. That WILL be interesting

we can torture your Muslims - but don't you dare torture an American.

[Wizard777]

38. Those were the bad old days. Now were trying to establish that no one tortures anybody.

But damage done and point well taken.

[jeff30997]

26. "not part of a pattern of behavior" my ass.

I bet that this psycho was torturing small animals when he was a kid then switched to humans faster

than the serial killers in "civilized" countries just because he knew he would get away with it.:puke:

[No Elephants]

27. So, he bought the whips and cattle prod for a one night stand? Talent beginner, eh? Some folks

just have the knack, I guess.

[Christa]

28. I bet you

the memory makes the bastard masturbate or beat his wife

They are so obsessed with sex and violence.

[bvar22]

30. WOW. That Sheikh better get a note from his lawyer....

...so he can claim he tortured "In Good Faith" and avoid any accountability.

I'm getting a note from my lawyer today that states I do everything "in good faith" so I can't ever be prosecuted for anything.

[downindixie]

31. It was Allah's will that let this happen!

It was the hand of God that directed him in doing it!

[gulfcoastliberal]

32. Isn't there a DUer from Dubai?

Wonder if s/he's still there now that their economy is cratering. I read the Alternet story about how awful the place is - it's a real eye opener:
http://www.alternet.org/audits/136877/dubai%27s_lesson_to_america%3A_how_the_middle_east%27s_shangrai_la_became_a_hell_on_earth/

[ConcernedCanuk]

35. I read all ten pages of that AlertNet article yesterday - quite disturbing

.
.
.

Indentured slaves right out of the 18th century playbook of the USA's robber barons.

and they are getting away with it

(sigh)

[gulfcoastliberal]

39. So wrong...they told the Indian Consulate to stop counting the annual deaths of their citizens.

Debtors prison, stealing passports, contracts not fit to wipe your arse with... indeed a hellhole

[JCMach1]

46. America still does it... only in China, Bangladesh, Indonesia

Wherever the sweatshops spring-up...

If you buy non-Union stuff at all, you are doing it.

Having said that, the government here (esp. Dubai) have a mess to clean up. Please watch the BBC Panorama video, "Slumdogs and Millionaires" if you get the chance.

[JCMach1]

44. Guilty of living here... This is not so shocking as I have gotten

rumors of such things over the years.

There is a part of the culture here that is "don't ask, don't tell" about a lot of things. The government also hates bad publicity.

This is going to be a real challenge as the guy in the video is closely related to the president. I don't know how Shk. Khalifa will handle this, but it will be interesting to see.

Most people here will be just as horrified as DUers have been... this will further complicate a rather challenging political time here. The UAE has slowly begun democratization with the creation of a partially elected Federal National Council.

The UAE is a small place (4 million). Everyone will know about this within 24hrs.

As a disclaimer, I do know members of the royal family on a personal basis so I won't share a public opinion.

The courts and the court of public opinion will be damning enough.

[Feron]

36. Gee, what a charming man..

:sarcasm:

[SKKY]

37. Was this put out there to make Waterboarding seem not so bad???

Why is this out there now???? The timing of this seems odd.

[JI7]

40. that's the side Dick Cheney is on

[Judi Lynn]

42. Had to see a photo of the face of someone who would do something like this:

http://antya7la.com.nyud.net:8090/up/get-10-2008-xjnirxwg.jpg http://www.uaetorture.com.nyud.net:8090/uploads/images/Projects/Sheikin_Issa_002.jpg

Wait, there's more to his talent than mentioned in the original article. This is his Wikipedia:

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 and 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
He is also the subject of a lawsuit by Texas businessman Bassam Nabulsi, a long-term adviser to the Al Nahyan who says he safeguarded the Sheikh's most important documents, including financial records, investment documents and videotapes showing the Sheikh torturing people with a cattle prod and a spiked plank. ABC News posted abridged version of the tapes in April of 2009.<2>. They showed a man who appeared to be Sheikh Issa beating another man with lumber, firing an automatic weapon into the sand around him and forcing an apparent cattle prod into his anus. The victim also appeared to have been partly run over by a SUV and had salt poured on his wounds.<3>

Lawyers said the video also showed the victim's genitals being set on fire. They said 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.<4>

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.<5>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issa_Bin_Zayed_Al_Nahyan

~~~~~~~~~~~

http://doctorbulldog.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2008/06/al-hekma-tower.jpg http://doctorbulldog.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2008/06/29vbhgi.jpg

US businessman: Videos show torture by UAE royal
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON - As a trusted adviser to a member of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates, Texas businessman Bassam Nabulsi says he safeguarded the sheik’s most important documents: financial records, investment documents, and videotapes showing the sheik torturing people with a cattle prod and a spiked plank.

When the business relationship began to deteriorate, Nabulsi says, he also was imprisoned for months and tortured by jailers trying to get the tapes back.

Now, the tapes could become evidence in a federal lawsuit against Sheik Issa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a son of the late UAE president and brother of Abu Dhabi’s crown prince. By custom, a member of the Al Nahyan royal family serves as president of the UAE.

The lawsuit and the tapes could prove embarrassing to the UAE, a U.S. ally that promotes itself as a pro-Western nation catering to business travelers and tourists.

The tapes have not been made public but The Associated Press viewed 11 still frames from one of the videos. They showed a man who appeared to be Sheik Issa beating another man with lumber, firing an automatic weapon into the sand around him and forcing an apparent cattle prod into his anus. The victim also appeared to have been partly run over by a SUV and had salt poured on his wounds.

Lawyers said the video also showed the victim’s genitals being lit on fire. They said the abuse began because the sheik 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 UAE Embassy in Washington released a brief statement Monday, saying it was aware of the lawsuit but that, since the government itself was not being sued, it would not comment on the accusations.

Nabulsi is suing for millions he says he is owed for various business deals. He also charges Sheik Issa and other members of the royal family with false imprisonment and with torturing him. Buzbee says he has three other torture videos.

More:
http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/video-purportedly-shows-uae-sheik-torturing-people/

[Sultana]

45. teh face of evil

who else has he tortured?

Animals, children, women and men, that is my guess...

[Locrian]

47. wow - I bet he got some "high value information" right?

(sarcasm)

[JohnyCanuck]

48. kick n/t

[JerseygirlCT]

50. Oh, so they haven't got MORE tapes of him doing the same,

so it's ok.

Everybody tortures once in a while, right?

:sarcasm:

[MetaTrope]

51. One of Osama bin Laden's hunting partners

Apparently the very person whom Richard Clarke alerted that Clinton was making plans to deliver some missiles up Osama's backside...

[SpiralHawk]

52. Republicons have modeled their version of 'christianity' to the world

and this is the shit we get as the world follows the Republicon example...Ptoooey