A Paris investigating judge is responsible for an investigation against Mohammed Ben Zayed Al-Nahyane, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, accused of “Complicity in acts of torture” as part of the war in Yemen, learned Agence France press (AFP), Friday, July 17.
According to several sources close to the file, a judicial investigation was opened in October 2019 against “MBZ”, against which two complaints, one of which with civil party, had been filed when he made an official visit to Paris in November 2018. Complaints with the creation of a civil party almost automatically make it possible to obtain the opening of judicial information and the appointment of an investigating judge to conduct investigations.
By virtue of its “Universal jurisdiction” for the most serious crimes, French justice has the possibility to prosecute and condemn the authors and accomplices of these crimes when they are on French territory. But the question of the diplomatic immunity of the strong man of the Emirates arises however and will have to be decided by the examining magistrate.
During his visit to France, on November 21, 2018, Mohammed Ben Zayed discussed the situation in the Middle East with the president, Emmanuel Macron, in particular on the conflict in Yemen, where Abu Dhabi is engaged in a coalition alongside of Saudi Arabia against the Houthi rebels, who have occupied the capital, Sanaa, since 2014.
“My clients place great hopes on French justice”
“My clients are delighted with this openness of information and have high hopes for French justice”, reacted Me Joseph Breham, defender of six Yemenis who had lodged the complaint with constitution of civil party near the dean of the examining magistrates of the pole crimes against humanity of the court of Paris. They denounce in particular acts of torture committed in detention centers controlled by the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates.
One of the complainants said that he had been imprisoned while working for the release of Yemenis detained by the UAE forces. He was “Placed in a” hole “as big as a barrel for forty-eight hours, feet and hands tied by wires”then he was “Stripped naked and hung by his hands from the ceiling for several hours”, electrocuted and burned by cigarettes, details the complaint. Mohammed Ben Zayed being the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates, he is “Likely to have provided the means and instructions for carrying out these offenses”, she underlines.
Another complaint for “Complicity in acts of torture and enforced disappearance” had been filed by three Qataris with the crimes against humanity and war crimes pole of the Paris prosecutor’s office. The three complainants claimed to have been “Detained and tortured by United Arab Emirates state security agents – of which Abu Dhabi is the federal capital – between February 2013 and May 2015”. This complaint was however dismissed by the prosecution, which considered that it was not competent to carry out the investigations.
The war in Yemen has left tens of thousands of people dead, most of them civilians. In July 2019, the United Arab Emirates, the main ally of Saudi Arabia, decided to reduce its military presence there.
