UAE paid $10m to settle US torture case, according to leaked emails: Middle East Eye

YemenExtra

The UAE bought the silence of an American arms dealer who was allegedly tortured by Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, during the 1980s, according to leaked emails obtained by Middle East Eye.

Khaled al-Hassen, a businessman and naturalised US citizen, alleged that he was abducted, taken to a secret location, tortured and forced to sign a false confession while while working in the United Arab Emirates.

Among the torturers, the suit alleged, were bin Zayed, his brother and president of the UAE, Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and General Saeed Hilal Abdullah al-Darmaki, at one time the minister for interior affairs.

The 20 emails seen by Middle East Eye, which cover the period from 10 May 2010 to 6 March 2014, reveal correspondence between Yousef al-Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the US, and Paul Hastings, a Washington legal firm hired to defend the three men.

In 2013, Hassen and his lawyers agreed a settlement of $10m, to be delivered to five separate accounts.