 A
45-minute videotape
featured in a news segment on ABC
News on April 22,
2009, suggests a man
that the Government
of Abu Dhabi has
acknowledged is
Sheikh Issa bin
Zayed al-Nahyan
ghastly
torturing Mohammed
Shah Poor, an Afghan
grain dealer, with
the assistance of
UAE police and
others, as
punishment as Shaikh
al Nahyan believed
that Mr. Poor had
short changed him in
a sale of grain.
High lights:-
The Sheikh begins by
stuffing sand down
the man's mouth, as
the police officers
restrains Mr. Poor.
The torture involved
shooting an
automatic rifle
around the victim in
very close proximity
as the victim was
screaming. At
another point on the
tape, the Sheikh can
be seen telling the
cameraman to come
closer. "Get closer.
Get closer. Let his
suffering show," the
Sheikh says. Over the course of
the tape, Sheikh Issa acts in an
increasingly
sadistic manner.
The Sheikh then
pulls down the pants
of the victim and
repeatedly strikes
him with wooden
planks and
its protruding nail.
At one point, he
puts the nail next
to the man's
buttocks and bangs
it through the
flesh. "Where's the
salt," asks the
Sheikh as he pours a
large container of
salt on to the man's
bleeding wounds. He
uses an electric
cattle prod, a
relatively
high-voltage
electric shock
device against the
man's testicles and
inserts it in his
anus.
Then the tape shows,
as the man wails in
pain, the Sheikh
pours lighter fluid
on the man's
testicles and sets
them aflame.
The final scene on
the tape shows the
Sheikh positioning
his victim on the
desert sand and then
driving over him
repeatedly. A sound
of breaking bones
can be heard on the
tape.
Warning:
Here is the
videotape showing the
torture of Afghan
businessman.
Probably the most
disturbing video
that has ever been
shown to the public.
[Graphic Content of
the video. Viewer
discretion is
strongly advised]
Please don't play it
around children or
people who are
particularly
sensitive to images
of human suffering.
View the shocking
video footage
ABC News Exclusive:
Torture Tape
Implicates UAE Royal
Sheikh
According
to HRW’s April 29
statement: “The
government’s failure
to prosecute those
involved in this
undisputed incident
of torture and abuse
at the hands of a
royal family member
and the police is an
appalling
miscarriage of
justice,” said Sarah
Leah Whitson,
Executive director
of the Middle East.
“What’s even more
shocking is the
government’s
insistence that it
investigated and
found no violation
of UAE laws.”
“If this is their
complete reply, then
sadly it’s a scam
and it’s a sham.”
said Whitson. One of
the most alarming
aspects of the tape
was the involvement
of the police, she
added. “It is the
state that is
torturing them if
the government does
not investigate and
prosecute these
officers.”
HRW’s statement goes
on to say: “Law
enforcement
officials become
criminals when they
inflict or tolerate
torture,” “The UAE
government needs to
act now if it is to
restore public
confidence in the
country’s criminal
justice system and
to show that the
rule of law, and not
impunity for its
violators, is the
policy of the
country.” said
Whitson.
Human Rights
Watch:
Prosecute Torture by
Royal Family Member
[HRW]:
Letter to the UAE on
the Torture of
Mohammed Shah Poor
The
tape, broadcast last
week by the American
television channel,
ABC, has already led
to calls for the
United States to
reconsider its
commercial ties with
the UAE, the tiny
but wealthy state
that includes Dubai
and Abu Dhabi.
James McGovern, a US
congressman, has
called for a freeze
on government aid to
the Emirates. In a
letter to Hillary
Clinton, the
Secretary of State,
Mr McGovern 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."
The tape was
smuggled out of the
UAE by US citizen
and Houston
businessman Bassam
Nabulsi, a former
business partner of
Issa. Nabulsi claims
Issa ordered
Nabulsi's brother to
record the torture
scene in order to
watch it later at
his own leisure.
Nabulsi is now suing
in America for the
alleged mistreatment
he received.
Nabulsi says
officials at the
U.S. Embassy in Abu
Dhabi were aware of
the torture tapes
but took no action
to protest the
Sheikh's action.
Nabulsi says he even
showed portions of
the tape to a
Department of
Homeland Security
official stationed
in Abu Dhabi to
train UAE police,
Bill Wallrap.
After the U.S.
official watched the
tapes, he advised
Nabulsi to "gather
your family and get
out of the country
as soon as possible
for your own
safety."
A spokesman for DHS
said neither Wallrap
nor the DHS would
have any comment on
the torture tapes.
Nabulsi says 'Anyone
in the United Arab
Emirates is subject
to the whims of the
royal family who
rule these areas
with an iron fist.
The point is,
torture is
practiced, human
rights are ignored,
and the court
systems are subject
to influence by the
royal family and
corruption in
general. Do not
travel to the U.A.E.
Do not do business
...
Warning:
Graphic Content of
the video. Viewer
discretion is
strongly advised.
"View the unedited
video tapes
demonstrating Sheikh
Issa Bin Zayed Al
Nahyan, the brother
of the UAE
president, torturing
his business partner
and forcing a cattle
prod into his anus
... . " |
