Former UAE prisoner brings torture complaint before UN

The British football fan Ali Issa Ahmad, who was jailed in the UAE earlier this year for wearing a Qatar national team T-shirt to a match in Dubai, has submitted a complaint to the UN alleging he had been tortured at the hands of the Emirati authorities during his detention.

In the 27-page complaint, Ali said the ill-treatment included electric shocks during interrogation, stabbings, deprivation of food, water and sleep, and racist abuse. He claims he was called “fucking black”, “donkey” and “dog”. 

Mr. Ahmad also alleges he was punched in the face, knocking out one of his teeth, and had a plastic bag placed over his head for several minutes, the Guardian reported.

In the document addressed to the UN high commissioner for  human rights, his lawyer Rodney Dixon QC said Ahmad’s treatment in the UAE violated his human rights including freedom of expression, the right not to be tortured and the right not to be arbitrarily arrested and detained.

The complaint urges the UN high commissioner to ensure that the UAE provides an effective remedy for his suffering, such as financial compensation.