**A member of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates has been cleared of the torture of a business associate.**Lawyers for Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the president’s brother, said the court ruled he had been drugged and so was “unaware of his actions”.
The incident came to light when a videotape was circulated showing the violent beating, said to have taken place in 2004.
It was the first reported investigation of a UAE ruling family member.
Lawyer Habib al-Mulla said the court had established that Sheikh Issa was “not responsible” for the torture of Mohammed Shah Poor.
“The court accepted our defence that the sheikh was under the influence of drugs that left him unaware of his actions,” AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
The defence had previously claimed Sheikk Issa had been drugged by two men who then then recorded the beating in order to blackmail him.
‘Equality sign’
The video, circulated last year, shows Sheikh Issa repeatedly beating Mr Poor, a grain merchant of Afghan origin, and running him over with a car.
Several other men assist in the tape, including one in a uniform of the security forces.
The incident came to light after US television network ABC broadcast clips of the tape, which was smuggled out of the UAE by a former business associate of Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Reports say the merchant had lost a consignment of grain belonging to Sheikh Issa worth $5,000 (£3,300). He survived the abuse, but needed extensive hospital treatment.
Mr al-Mulla said the fact the trial had taken place was “a sign that the UAE is showing that everyone in this country can be put in front of law and judged”.
The UAE is a federation of seven wealthy emirates with substantial oil reserves and a large expatriate population. Each emirate is run by a ruling family and citizens are granted few political rights.
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