Outrage at acquittal of Abu Dhabi sheikh in 'torture' tape

Abu Dhabi verdict is an insult to justice says US businessman found guilty of trying to blackmail a member of the ruling family

Paul Harris, New York
The Observer, Sunday 17 January 2010

"The man at the centre of a "torture tape" scandal involving a wealthy Arab prince has spoken out about the acquittal of Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan – and called the verdict an insult to justice.

American businessman Bassam Nabulsi was behind the release last year of a shocking videotape in which Issa is seen brutally beating and torturing an Afghan man who he claimed owed him money. The tape showed Issa shooting at the man, beating him with a plank with protruding nails, electrocuting him, setting him on fire, pouring salt into his bleeding wounds and eventually having him driven over with a vehicle.

The tape caused an international outcry and eventually saw Issa put on trial in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, where he is a senior member of the ruling family. But the court, in the eastern city of al-Ain, acquitted him. Instead, it convicted Nabulsi, in absentia, for his ­involvement in what it decided was a blackmail plot, and sentenced him to five years in prison. The verdict stunned observers and raised questions about the justice system in the United Arab Emirates.

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," he said.

The al-Ain criminal court, which Nabulsi claims never told him he was charged with anything, decided that he and his brother had secretly injected Issa with drugs, thus rendering him incapable of having responsibility for his actions. The court said the brothers had done this as part of a plot to make the torture video and blackmail the sheikh. It found several of Issa's employees, including a Syrian, an Indian and a Palestinian, guilty of helping with the torture, handing out jail terms from one to three years. But by pointing the finger of blame at the Nabulsi brothers, the court in effect concluded that Issa was a victim too.......

The UAE's foreign minister rejected calls to review the judgment. "There's no way the UAE government is going to get involved on any court ruling," Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan said after the verdict. "If we start doing so, what does that tell us about any court system in any country in the world? That defeats the point of an independent judiciary [said the Minister of Truth!]."......"