Case Closed: No Appeal of Sheikh Issa Torture Trial Verdict

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000043 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV AE SUBJECT: Case Closed: No Appeal of Sheikh Issa Torture Trial Verdict REF: ABU DHABI 17; ABU DHABI 11 ¶1. (SBU) Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan's January 10 acquittal will stand, as Abu Dhabi prosecutors declined to appeal the verdict before a 15-day filing deadline expired January 26. Post reported this expected outcome (ref A) in the case against Sheikh Issa, who was filmed torturing an Afghan merchant. The court exonerated Sheikh Issa and convicted two American citizen brothers, Bassam and Ghassan Nabulsi, of drugging him and manipulating events as part of a blackmail scheme (ref B). ¶2. (SBU) Although the criminal case is now officially closed, there is no end in sight to the legal proceedings stemming from this incident. Sheikh Issa and the Afghan victim have each filed separate lawsuits in UAE courts against the Nabulsi brothers for damaging their reputations. The Nabulsis have sued Sheikh Issa in Texas over a business dispute, and their attorney Anthony Buzbee has publicly threatened to release more video purportedly showing Sheikh Issa torturing 25 other victims. OLSON