U.S. torture apologists could learn a thing or two from the Interior Ministry in the United Arab Emirates.
ABC News obtained a videotape smuggled out the UAE showing the crown prince’s brother torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods, and wooden planks with protruding nails before pouring salt in the man’s wounds and running over him with a Mercedes. A man in police uniform also appeared on the tape, aiding the sheik.
Confronted with the tape, the UAE had this peculiarly candid yet defiant response:
In a statement to ABC News, the UAE Ministry of the Interior said it had reviewed the tape and acknowledged the involvement of Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, brother of the country’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed.
“The incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior,” the Interior Ministry’s statement declared.
The Minister of the Interior is also one of Sheikh Issa’s brother.
The government statement said its review found “all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department.”
This is the sort of response I’d expect if Monty Python were running a country’s internal security force: Yes, the sheik did it, but it was merely a one time thing, so no need to be alarmed — and our policeman followed all the rules, the first of which is do whatever the the sheik says. Carry on, now, carry on.
