AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES SHAYKH ISSA CASE WITH MINISTER OF THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000553


E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM CASC AE
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES SHAYKH ISSA CASE WITH MINISTER OF THE
INTERIOR

Classified by Ambassador Richard Olson, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Ref: A) ABU DHABI 481, B) ABU DHABI 423, C) 06 ABU DHABI 3393


1. (C) During a 1 June meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of the Interior Shaykh Saif bin Zayed Al-Nayhan, Ambassador
raised the case of Shaykh Issa. Ambassador said that the tapes
showing the incident with the Afghan merchant were shocking, and the
USG welcomed the decision to conduct a review, but noted concerns
that the incident could have an impact on the UAE's reputation in the
US, particularly on Capitol Hill.


2. (C) Shaykh Saif agreed that the tapes were "very shocking" and
said that the UAE had taken legal action against Shaykh Issa, because
the UAE was a country of laws. Secondarily, the UAE was concerned
about its international reputation. From the Government's
perspective, Shaykh Issa was just "a citizen of the UAE" to whom all
laws applied. The issue had been difficult for the Nahyan family as
a family (Issa is Saif's half brother),but as government officials,
the course of action had been clear.


3. (C) Shaykh Saif said that one aspect of the case that disturbed
him was the allegations of Amcit Bassem Nabulsi regarding the UAE
court case against him. (Note: Nabulsi was detained on April 6,
2005 under investigation for fraud/theft related to his position as
the general manager of Shaykh Issa's private office. He was
eventually convicted of possession of restricted drugs, fined AED
10,000 [USD 2,730] and deported. End note.) Shaykh Saif said he had
reviewed the case, and found it to be "100 percent (actually 101
percent) correct" in terms of process. Saif said Nabulsi alleged
that Shaykh Issa and Shaykh Saif had beaten him in prison. This was
false, and the proof of this was that the US Embassy would have
protested any mistreatment of an American Citizen, and there was no
record of American protest. Ambassador replied that he could not
discuss our private discussions with our citizens, but that the
Minister was correct that we assiduously protested cases of
mistreatment when we became aware of them. (Note: Nabulsi never
made any claims of mistreatment during his regular interactions with
consular officials. These allegations were brought to the Embassy's
attention more than a year later, as reported ref C. End note.)


4. (C) Ambassador concluded by urging Shaykh Saif to keep the Embassy
informed as the judicial process against Shaykh Issa proceeded. Saif
promised that he would.

OLSON