A member of the United Arab Emirates ruling family being tried in connection with a videotaped beating of an Afghan dealer was cleared of all charges Sunday. Presiding judge Sheikh Mubarak al-Awad pronounced Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan "innocent" of all charges in a UAE criminal court in the city of Al Ain.
Sheikh Issa is half brother of the Emirati president.
The tape surfaced last year in an American lawsuit by Issa's former business associate, Texas businessman Bassam Nabulsi. He is suing Issa for millions of dollars he claimed he was owed for various business deals.
The tape shows a suspect, identified as Issa, viciously beating a man said to be the Afghan worker in an empty stretch of the desert. The defense alleged Nabulsi had the torture filmed in order to blackmail Issa. The victim, identified as Afghani grain dealer Mohammed Shapoor, survived the beatings.
According to the AP, the defense claimed that Sheikh Issa was left disoriented and impaired by a combination of dozens of drugs, including medicine for heart and back conditions. The list of drugs was submitted to the court.
Last month, a forensics expert put on the stand by the defense said that the mixture of drugs could cause "anger, suicidal tendencies, depression, aggression and loss of memory."
