UAE sheikh to face assault trial
First Gay Arab Magazine
A Swiss court is preparing to hear a case against a brother of the UAE
president who is accused of assaulting an American citizen in a Geneva
hotel.
Silvano Orsi alleges Sheikh Falah al-Nahyan made homosexual advances to him
in the bar of the hotel and severely beat him when rejected.
The allegations date back to 2003. Mr Orsi said it has been a “five-year
ordeal” to get the case to court.
The sheikh denies assault and has said he is sure “justice would be done”.
Mr Orsi, 39, says he was drinking at Geneva’s La Reserve hotel with a Saudi
friend when the sheikh ordered a bottle of champagne to be sent over to
their table.
A few minutes later, Mr Orsi claims the sheikh came over and began molesting
him, and when the advances were rejected the sheikh attacked him and whipped
him with his belt.
Mr Orsi says he sustained a herniated disc, nerve damage and post-traumatic
stress disorder from the assault.
In a pre-trial hearing in 2007, Mr Nahyan, 37, said there had been a short
scuffle in the hotel bar after he was accused of being gay.
The three-judge tribunal will begin hearing the case on Thursday and it can
impose a sentence of up to two years in prison if the defendant is found
guilty.
Mr Nahyan is the son of the late Sheikh Zayed, who died in 2004 and was
succeed by Mr Nahyan’s older brother, Sheikh Khalifa.
Mr Orsi has said he wants to bring a civil case against Mr Nahyan in
addition to the criminal case, because he says to have been too ill to work
since the alleged assault.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/ -/1/hi/world/ middle_east/ 7457573.stm
