UAE - as always, best avoided. Crown Prince Al Nahyan sets up mercenary army

It's long been the advice of Muscat Confidential that the UAE is 'best avoided'. A thin veneer of oil wealth supplied shiny stuff barely covers a culture of intolerance and expat exploitation. There is little true rule of law.

As recently commented in the previous post, The New York Times has just broken a big story that Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan has established a secret UAE based mercenary army in copperation with Blackwater founder Eric Prince. The outfit, staffed with mercs from Latin America to South Africa [but specifically no Muslims] is tasked with a mission scope that includes suppressing local riots, from expat labour camps or locals, plus defending islands from occupation by a few Iranians.

Photo: Effective ruler of the UAE, Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

While the unit was set up long before the Arab Spring swept the region, old Ghaddafi has shown that when you're a dictator it's useful to have a few rentals on hand who have no qualms shooting the local civilian populace.

...
Mr. Prince, who resettled here last year after his security business faced mounting legal problems in the United States, was hired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi to put together an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the U.A.E., according to former employees on the project, American officials and corporate documents obtained by The New York Times.

The force is intended to conduct special operations missions inside and outside the country, defend oil pipelines and skyscrapers from terrorist attacks and put down internal revolts, the documents show. Such troops could be deployed if the Emirates faced unrest in their crowded labor camps or were challenged by pro-democracy protests like those sweeping the Arab world this year.

The U.A.E.’s rulers, viewing their own military as inadequate, also hope that the troops could blunt the regional aggression of Iran, the country’s biggest foe, the former employees said. The training camp, located on a sprawling Emirati base called Zayed Military City, is hidden behind concrete walls laced with barbed wire. Photographs show rows of identical yellow temporary buildings, used for barracks and mess halls, and a motor pool, which houses Humvees and fuel trucks. The Colombians, along with South African and other foreign troops, are trained by retired American soldiers and veterans of the German and British special operations units and the French Foreign Legion, according to the former employees and American officials.
...

It's a long article. You can read it in full here.


Meanwhile, a UAE man was busted in Thailand while attempting to board a 1st class flight to Dubai with carry on that contained a baby leopard, panther, bear and monkeys. He obviously wasn't too worried about being searched on arrival in the UAE...

Post-script: The smuggler was one Noor Mahmoodr, a 36 year old male from UAE, according to freeland.org. No word on who he was smuggling them for...

UAE: Best avoided.

More Insanity in UAE: Expat couple beaten up by Emirati in IKEA

A reader forwarded me the following great link commenting about the case of 3 Emirati brothers who beat the crap out of an Expat couple in the Dubai IKEA cafeteria, for, er, sitting at their table.

The original story in the National is here.

His final 2 paragraphs sum it up pretty beautifully.

Wall St. WTF

...
Obviously an attack on a pregnant woman by three Emirati men in the middle of an IKEA cafeteria is horrific in its’ own right and pretty hard to understand. What’s more, Dubai is completely dependent on foreigners to do most of the work, to move there, buy apartments and set up businesses in order to dig Dubai out of its deep dark hole. You would think that the authorities would deal harshly with the culprits. Besmirching the reputation of Dubai as a tolerant multicultural hub poses an existential threat to Dubai itself. Alas, it is not so. The assault occurred in June of 2009, the first hearing was in August 2010. All three assailants are free men in a city where hundreds are in prison for bounced checks. Two of them failed to even show up for the hearing and were not even required to provide an explanation. It seems also that this is a civil case. Apparently if you are Emirati beating the hell out of a non-Emirati man and his pregnant non-Emirati wife is not a crime.

It’s their country, they can do what they want, but if you ask me this is no way to run a country completely dependent on its reputation among foreigners. As sad as the article itself is the comment at the bottom from an Emirati: “they should have moved.” They probably will, and not to the next table but rather to the next country and if enough foreigners decide to follow them the creditors will beat the hell out of Dubai.

Maybe the 3 nut-case Emiratis can claim they were under the influence of the Swedish meatballs. It is, afterall, the sort of defense that has been successfully used before in the UAE.

Photo: The mad Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan torturing a grain supplier: obviously only because of his medication.

As ever, UAE - Best Avoided

More tales of imprisonment and Catch 22 in Dubai

Readers,

Another cautionary tale of the draconian laws in Dubai and the obscene powers available to the banks in the UAE to imprison expats, from the BBC online. [TWI - thx for the link!]

The Catch-22 aspects of the UAE's immature laws with regard to debt and the absence of a personal bankrupcy law are scary indeed. More on that to come soon.



Dragon's advice on the UAE remains, as before, "Best Avoided"

BBC News

Homeless in Dubai

18 July 2010 Last updated at 03:45 ET Help
Nicholas Warner is British and sleeping on the street in Dubai. He got into a dispute with his bank, Emirates NBD, initially over whether his credit card repayments had been made.

He went on holiday at Christmas and the bank says that by leaving the country without its permission while they were in a dispute, he got reclassified as a so-called "debt skipper" - one of the many expats who leave Dubai in a hurry with large debts, never to return.

When he arrived back at Dubai airport, he was arrested. His passport was seized by police on the authority of the bank.

Although he was released and tried to negotiate with the bank he got into further difficulties.

He had been working as a strategy adviser for an alternative medicine company, but his employer decided it was safer to let him go while he sorted everything out.

Emirates NBD is refusing to let his passport be released until the debts are paid. Nicholas has no way of paying them without a job. And he cannot get a job without being able to show he's in the country legally. For that, he needs his passport.

Read more:
Destitute in Dubai: One man's story

PS: The Dragon is still on leave, like everyone else. Expect delays and occasional champagne-induced poor typography...

More Crime and Punishment in the UAE - What assholes

In today's Gulf Snooze News today, 2 articles that really underscore the attitude of the law and authorities in the UAE to crime and Nationality. [thanks for pointing it out Z!]

Before following the link, can you match the crime with the punishment?

Case 1: 150 rial theft
Some Indian workers stole & sold 150 rials [US$400] worth of scrap metal.

Case 2: Aggravated Rape
An Emirati raped an American in her home.


Sentence A: 6 months in jail. Sentence B: 12 months in jail.
Which crime got which punishment?


...

...

...

Tough call? Not for the good judges in the UAE, and I'm sure not for you either.

The two Indians in Case 1 got 12 months & deportation.

The deadbeat Emirati rapist got 6 months.
6 lousy months. I can only hope some of the vast numbers of Indians in the jail rape him repeatedly while punching him hard across the head every single day he's inside serving his time.





The UAE maintains its current Muscat Confidential Rating: "Best Avoided"... The entire place is insane. And if you're an Expat, no matter how important, you're disposable. Building high rise gleaming towers on the back of slaves clearly doesn't impart civilisation.


Here are the stories.

Case 1: A year in prison, followed by deportation

Gulf News May 6th 2010.
Dubai: Two workers have been jailed after a court convicted them yesterday of stealing one tonne of iron scrap from the company where they worked, and trying to sell it for Dh1,500.
The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced each of the Indian workers to one year in jail after Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir pronounced them guilty of theft.
Prosecutors accused the two accused, 23-year-old S.M. and 34-year-old M.R., of stealing the iron scrap.
According to the chargesheet, prosecutors accused S.M. with forging a company document which permitted him to sell the iron scrap.
When the two suspects appeared in court, S.M. pleaded guilty and M.R. denied his charges.
According to yesterday's judgment, the defendants will be deported after the completion of their sentence.

Gulf News May 6th 2010.
Dubai: A jobless man has been jailed for six months after a court convicted him of having sex with an American woman, who claimed he raped her.
The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the 22-year-old Emirati to six months in jail after he denied that he raped the 26-year-old American woman and claimed he had consensual sex with her.
Prosecutors said the jobless Emirati secretly walked behind the woman while she was opening her house door, then he gagged her and forced her into the flat where he beat and raped her on her bed.
The Public Prosecution charged the Emirati, M.K., with raping the woman, who works in sales, after assaulting her.
An Emirati police officer testified that the incident happened in the woman's flat in the International City. "I headed to the location and found the woman in a hysterical condition and her face was bruised… she alleged that she met M.K. one month prior to the incident in a pub. She claimed that on the day of the incident he dropped her home and she took the elevator."
The officer said the woman claimed M.K. surprised her from behind, pushed her into the flat and subsequently raped her.
...
...

Draconian debt laws in the UAE. A Tale of Warning - Part Three

It's been a busy week, and I have to assume you already read the obvious stuff: the Omani Tennis coach busted front page, Muscat Daily, as having served 3 years in a US prison as a sex offender after getting consensually involved with a girl under 16 (who is now here with him). The quoted use of the word "grooming" in the article was comedy gold too.

What else?

The vast sums being planned for more desalination and power.

The law suit between Shell Oman Marketing and alledgedly - Al Sirooj, a major francisee(? rumour 1), or against Shell and a Government Company like OOC or ORPC over imported bunkering fuel???? (rumour 2).

The strange and eerie case of the sudden disappearance of fantabulous local blogger Muscato. I do fear for his safety.

And, I hope you didn't miss this incredible post about women's rights in south Omsn and the Sultanate in general by the wonderful Dhofari Gucci. Recommended reading.


Anyhow, so here's something else.

Continued from Part Two.

In theory Oman has on the books a lot of UAE-similarly ill-defined wacky laws, where imprisonment is an option. But fortunately the ROP are generally blessed with common sense, and a naturally tendency to want things sorted out amicably without requiring too much paperwork for the courts.

And a big difference: Here in Oman, employers usually take liability for debt (or in the case of Omanis, the banks are asked to forgive the debt. More on that story soon.)

This situation in the UAE, fragmented police forces and varying degrees of application of very ill-defined laws, is creating an environment where expats are being blackmailed and extorted by officials in the UAE and in the banks. These officials use the threat of imprisonment without due cause as a weapon, and it's proving very profitable.

Just because you live safely in Oman doesn't mean you can ignore this problem. Anyone in the UAE who is in a debt trap situation might wanty to visit Debt Prison . Net , a great site that shows there can be a solution oif you're willing to work hard and take a risk.




Now, here's a very scary tale from an Oman based Expat who is also an ex-UAE resident from many years ago (she chooses to remain anonymous). The following is another true story:

Busted at the Border

Dear Dragon,
...
Roughly a year ago (2009) I went for one of many trips to Dubai, in my car, alone, to visit friends and do some shopping. My last visit prior to this had been in Dec -08 for the same reason.

I take off early in the morning, reach the border round about 10am, as usual show my passport (European) and expect the stamps and to off to my breakfast date, and further some shopping.

Well, instead I'm told I've I need to see the supervisor... Ok, I get into the portacabin and in a small "office" is a man with a computer telling me with a smile on his face that I'm black listed!!!

WHAT!!!??? How, where, when, WHAT!!!

[The Debt Saga Begins]
Apparently on his screen it says I owe "someone" 14 000 DHS![US$3500] My heart races, I'm totally surprised! I used to live in Dubai many years ago but as you stated in your post, to leave the country you have to clear your bank, which I did and got the papers and release letter accordingly. I've been back MANY times after leaving Dubai and never before incountered any problems.

I'm taken to Hatta police station, call my husband, in tears, trying to tell him about the situation though I really don't know what the actual deal is. Here at the station the amount "owed" is suddenly 24 000 Dhs [US$6000].

Now all I want is to get out of there and home so I offer to pay the money there and then and deal with the rest later but NO, not possible since the case has been taken to court!!!???

I'm taken to a big police station, by "jailbus", downtown in Dubai, sat infront of an officer who's suppose to take my statement. He tells me there is a case against me for fraud. I have, according to him, signed 2 cheques, one in 2004 and one in 2005.

I'm totally & utterly stunned! I show him my passport which proves that I was not in Dubai on the stated dates, which he agrees is "odd", but keeps pointing at his screen saying "it says here".

I'm upset beyond words, not knowing what to do; he's writing a statement, in Arabic, that he wants me to sign. Not knowing what it realy reads, for all I know I could be confessing to murder. He goes off, comes back and tells me I have 2 options - me thinking one of them is leaving my id etc stay at my friends house over night to come back in the morning and sort this mistake out. Well, his two options are either staying in the prison at the station or go to the main prison... imagine my dispare!!!

[Immediate Prisonment is the only option]
I'm then "escorted" by a rather large female police officer to the prison at the station. The metal door is massive, at least 20 cm thick! It slam behind me and infront of me are a desk with 4 more large female guards telling me to give them all my possessions incl. my mobile, the only line to the outside, my husband and freedom!

I'm allowed to use my Omani rials to buy a phone card. Then I'm told to walk through an opening in the wall... that's it... I'm scared, confused and feel like I'm in a living nightmare...

I walk through the opening into a massive rom or more like a warehouse with an open "yard" in the middle cells along the walls with bunkbeds, already occupied to the brim, a second floor overlooking the "yard". A girl, who I later found out had been there for 4 months for slapping her Emirati boyfriend, came up to me with an old mattress and an old blanket she told me "find yourself a corner on the floor" Honestly!!! I have never done anything against the law in my life, been hard working until I had children and this is indescribable!

I didn't sleep much, as you can imagine: the flourecent lights stay on 24/7, toilets are holes in the ground with no privacy - hence my decision not to eat or drink again until I get out. Food served 3 times a day; you can bribe the guards to bring you food from the outside coffeeshop but I was not interested in any of it.

The girls inside are just normal girls who have been either wrongly inprisoned, like myself, or actually comitted a "crime" such as fraud, unpaid debts, having a boyfriend(!). A sad sad thing is the asian girls in there still called me, as a westerner, "madam"!!

I cried my self through the night, listening to endless stories of different destinies: that normally if you are accused of fraud you'll have at least 1 month to wait for your first trial, where you are taken in front of a judge and you have to state if you are guilty or not, and that is then recorded. Then you go back to the prison to await a further date in court where the judge will decide if you are guilty or not, and a minimum for fraud is 3 months...

[The Debt Keeps Getting Bigger]
Things just gets worse and worse... I'm on one of the 2 payphones available in the hall every 3 hours to get an update of the situation and it turns out that when the husband of my friend and his emirati PRO go to the bank, the one claiming that I signed the cheques, the manager there tells them it is not 24 000 it is 77 000 Dhs!!!!! [US$20,000] BUT he can do us "a favor" and give some discount (!!!???) - 15,000 Dhs worth of discount - so it takes the sum to 62 000 Dhs...

[The Payoff]
Luckily my friend's husband has the money, pays the bank, gets the paper of no claim, gets to the court where a judge is in a good mood and decides they have better things to do than persue this case, sigs it off, CID sign their part 3 minutes to 2pm (when they close) and papers are taken to the police station.

@ 6pm one of the guards, comes in shouts my name and tells me you are free to go!!!!


[A Hollywood Ending]
Everyone in that prison stood up, clapped their hands and whistled... like a good old american movie!!

My nightmare was over, we were 6500 rials poorer but that was a later problem - I was out! It was a bittersweet feeling seeing all this well meaning individuals, some actually had boken the laws other just very unfortunate and without the friends and financial means I have... their faces still haunts me!

After this, when I'm back home in Oman, we inquired about legal help to have this matter brought up again in court, and maybe be able to get back our money. We were advised to "let it go" as it would cost us probably the same amount, if not more, to hire someone. Even then no one would ever admit to being wrong, so we would get nothing by doing so, just more trouble. Plus being scared to death of ever having to go through that again - let it go!

The most expensive trip to Dubai in my life, but I was home, with my family and safe - that is worth 6500 rials.

Hearing similar stories afterwards it seems that there might be some kind of "inside" job going on in the UAE banks. Someone see the accounts being "closed" and they have the information, wait a while, then use the account...

I don't know but it is worth mentioning for others that when and if you leave any country and you "close" your accounts - keep the papers saying so! No matter how long after you've left!

In my case after 8 years, and 5 moves later - with no papers - it was rather costly!

All I can say is OMG. Just be careful folks. The UAE is not like Oman.

It's getting more and more totally bat-shit insane in our brotherly neighbouring Emirati state-lets.

Muscat Confidential rates the UAE a big : AVOID IF POSSIBLE.

All rights reserved, copyright Muscat Confidential.

Draconian debt laws in the UAE. A Tale of Warning - Part Two

Continued from Part One.

Effectively imprisoned in the UAE because of an exit ban imposed by his bank, and facing both the removal of his work permit, illegal status, and jail for being in debt, our correspondent makes a big decision: to leave the UAE and come to Oman, illegally.

His story continues...

PART TWO: The Escape

...
I decided I had to get out. I found someone who could facilitate this and paid a lot of money to be brought over the border into Oman.

I have seen the [UK] embassy who have said they cannot directly help me as I am illegal, the lawyer said the same, but I feel in the circumstances I would have hoped to be helped to get home to the UK. I did not expect to left in limbo. I am fully aware that I must spend some time in jail here and pay a fine but I just want a guarantee I will be returned to the UK after I have paid my dues to the Omanis.

I am running out of money, scared that if I am returned to the UAE I am going to spend more than a year in jail for 9000 dirhams which I paid and basically be a victim of a barbaric system with no support or influence from the embassy there.

Photo: Getting illegally from the UAE into Oman can be bought.


So, despite an Omani Government amnesty for illegal aliens (just extended for two months), it seems the British Embassy wouldn't help him get back to the UK.

Running out of money, he made the fateful decision to try to get a flight out...

At the check-in desk he was detained by the Omani authorities, arrested, and unfortunately, deported straight away back to the UAE.

He is now in Dubai prison.

Photo: Dubai Central Prison. Easier to see than you'd think...


As you might imagine, there's no internet where he is now, and he can only communicate through his lawyer. He's facing at least a year in jail, followed by deportation.

The lesson?

If you are an expat in the UAE and have debts you can't repay, and if you seem to be about to loose your job, the only sensible thing to do is to leave the UAE fast, via the airport, before you get slapped with a travel ban.

And wish the place good riddance.

Otherwise you will be imprisoned in horrible conditions in a Dubai jail, probably for months and possibly for years.

Such is the state of the law in the UAE. I fail to understand why tourists risk their lives even visiting the UAE, let alone working there. For example, The man who got 1 month for giving the bird, or many other cases of arrest and imprisonment for trivial or even non-sensical offenses. (hey, at least in Oman its only 2 weeks in prison for flicking the bird!! Go Oman!)

"One bloke was arrested for doing press-ups on the beach - cops accused him of making love to the GROUND and charged him with indecency."

What I don't understand is why our illegal alien wasn't helped by the British Embassy.

Also, paying to get to Oman is probably a waste of time, unless perhaps you then can arrange for someone to take you on a boat across to India.


In Part Three, the tale of an Omani-based expat who was arrested while visiting the UAE on a shopping trip, charged (falsely) with having a minor debt-charge. Her tale is really harrowing.

Dubai loses the plot - no sexy sexy times for expats. And the airport project strikes water

Photo: Thinking of a holiday in Dubai? You had better behave! [getty images]

The way Dubai is repeatedly imprisoning people for insignificant 'offenses' is certain to start to impact the tourist trade, as word spreads that you could be thrown in jail for such terrible crimes as kissing in public or sending sexy text messages.

Someone is losing the plot in the Emirate.

In the latest story, 2 Emirates cabin crew have been given 3 months in prison for sending each other sexy text messages, reduced on appeal from the original sentence of six months and deportation. The woman's husband had obtained the texts from the national telecom provider in a divorce dispute, and seems to be somewhat filled with a desire for revenge and to win custody of his child. It seems sending sexy texts in the UAE amounts to the crime of "coercion to the commitment of sin".

You've been warned.

The National has the story, but it's all over the net today.

Airline pair jailed over sex texting
Awad Mustafa
March 17. 2010
DUBAI // Two Emirates Airline cabin crew have been jailed for three months for exchanging lewd text messages.

RS, 42, a flight attendant, and EB, 47, a cabin services supervisor, were convicted of “coercion to commit sin” after sending each other sexually themed SMS messages, according to court documents released yesterday.

The pair, both Indian, were sentenced to six months in prison and deportation by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors in December.

The court said the texts “fulfilled all the necessary angles of coercion to the commitment of sin”.

The Appeals Court upheld that decision last week. But it halved their jail sentences and scrapped the deportation orders. There was not enough evidence to prove that the pair had extramarital relations, it added.

The flight attendant’s sister, BM, 25, was also convicted of perjury and sentenced to three months and deportation by the lower court. Her deportation order was withdrawn on appeal.

The case first went to court after the flight attendant’s husband, SG, filed a lawsuit against his wife in March 2009 claiming that she was involved in an illicit relationship with the supervisor.

The couple had been embroiled in a divorce battle since 2007.

SG has now gained sole custody of their four-year-old son, although it was not clear when the couple divorced.

During the divorce proceedings, SG requested that the courts order Etisalat to produce copies of his wife’s text messages, which, he said, proved the illicit relationship.


The telecoms provider turned them over to the court in October 2008.

Five months later, the flight attendant’s husband filed a criminal complaint against her, charging her with having an affair and saying her text messages were an insult to Islam.

She told police that her sister sent the messages to the supervisor, who also denied any relationship with RS. He told officers that he had been seeing her sister for the past four years. Prosecutors decided that was untrue, however, leading to the perjury charge against the sister.

Meanwhile, Muscat Airport runway costs go up at least Half a Billion dollars.

Muscat's new airport is in trouble. A Ministry official was quoted in the papers as saying the new runway would be delayed for 2 years and cost an extra $500 million due to hitting seawater.

What the official didn't mention that the project screwed up big time. Not only did they skimp by not doing basic geotechnical investigation - drilling exploratory boreholes to sample the rock and soil where the runway was planned - but my sources tell me similar problems had already hit the sewage waste water project last year, and so should have been obvious.

The problem is the contractors needed to dig quite deep to make a proper runway that can be engineered to last and withstand being pounded by planes landing all day. And the excavation, on land right by the ocean, needed to be a lot deeper than the level of the aquifer. Doh!

My sources, who know a thing or two about engineering, also said $500 million was a low estimate, and it could end up adding an extra billion dollars, almost doubling the cost of the runway. This is because they will have to build it up even higher, and thus needing a LOT more rock and sand.

Reuters reported that the extension of Oman's main airport in Muscat will be delayed by 2 years and may cost the state up to an extra USD 500 million after runway excavations hit seawater.

The official said that the Muscat airport extension will now be completed in 2014, not in 2012 as expected due to soft ground which contractors come across in some places. He said that it would cost the government up to USD 500 million to pay for reinforcements to fill affected ground in places where civil work excavations hit seawater.
...

Speaking of cock-ups, in other news, The Asian Beach Games project, despite rumours to the contrary, will apparently be ready on time. Even my sources confirm this, not just OMRAN.

However, the project is beset with problems, with chaotic redesigns on the fly coupled with the immovable date for completion in November this year, as Oman hosts the Asian Beach Games. The bits that will appear on TV are already finished, and the hotel will be OK. But the athletes village will be a Heath Robinson affair that will not be built to last, and plans to create yet another OMRAN mini-city at the site have been shelved, replaced by a now 4 star hotel (was 3 star) and the usual Integrated Tourist Development we know and love.

There are also persistent rumours of sweet contracts being awarded** to people who just happen to be closely related to senior people at Omran and the Ministries of both Sport and Tourism. To enable things to be done super quickly, CEO of OMRAN, Mr. Wael bin Ahmed Al Lawati, appears to have been given the ability to by-pass normal tender board procedures. I'm sure that there is no way such a removal of standard oversight would lead to contracts being given to relatives or buddies.


Coincidentally and totally unrelated, as the deadline approaches the budget is going through the roof. So while the project will scrape home and will look great on TV, the costs will be huge and the final product nothing like as grand as what was originally approved.

Small wonder the leadership of the project, under the responsibility of the Muscat Asian Beach Games Organising Committee (MABGOC) and Director General Eng. Habib Macki, have been replaced resigned. On Tuesday, Muscat Daily reported that executive Director Sheikh Soud bin Hamed Al Rawahi had decided to spend more time with his family due to the pressure of work.... In January, Talal al Kishry the deputy Director of Operations resigned also.

But it's only Government money after all.

** Dear Mr State Auditor, maybe have a look at the contracts surrounding the Convention Centre...

Are you one of the magic 34? UAE official 'clarifies' the huge screw up that is the UAE visa law.

OK.




Everyone FREAKED out in the UAE when it seemed the ol' 'visa run' from the UAE was ended, after a rather unhelpful PR piece by the UAE Government Visa guy just confused everyone.

"no re-entry??? But I fly in and out every day!. WTF??"

Ah. Exactly. The UAE Visa guys clarified: It only ever applied to those unfortunate people who have to pre-apply for a visa to visit the UAE in the first place! Naturally!

If you normally wouldn't even think about having to first get a visa to transit via the UAE, you are probably UNEFFECTED. You can come on down to Muscat, or go on up to Khasab, because you are a citizen of the....

Magic 34.


Photo: If this is home, you can exit and re-enter the UAE freely.


If you are a passport bearing citizen of one of the 34 countries on the UAE's list, no worries. You are officially a member of the civilised world. Presumably also known as 'Places where the likelihood of you wanting to overstay in the UAE rather than going back home' is low. Rich countries. Nice countries. Countries where UAE people buy houses and go on holiday.

YOU can come and go as you please, Mr. GCC/American/Australian/UK/EU/etc,

You're OK. YOU can go to Oman from the UAE on a visit. As often as you want.

BUT,

you other people. No way. Get back in line.

Photo: The sort of people who's families can't visit Oman for a day or two when visiting the UAE.

So, all clear now then! Thanks for that. Whew! For a while people thought the UAE would treat THEM like Indians/Pakistani/Afghani/...



Photo: Spot the difference kids!

Photo: The guys who really deserve the credit for the Burj Dubai Khalifa.




I will always have been blessed by having that wonderful passport I was born with.

In case you were curious, and don't want to read the whole article, these are the UAE's 34 magic countries. Kids: ask your parents _ Do YOU have a passport from places on this list?

[Note: GCC Countries - like Oman - are not on this list because GCC citizens are a class above; able generally to pass across borders freely and own land in other GCC countries, have right of abode if you own said land, be able to be a business principal, easier work visas, etc. Thank goodness Oman is different!]

Andorra
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brunei
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Monaco
Netherlands (Holland)
New Zealand
Norway
Paraguay
Portugal
San Marino
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
Vatican City


Hmmm. I predict a flood of dirt poor illegal Icelanders....

By the way, Here's the story from Gulf News:

Citizens of 34 nations exempt from UAE visit visa waiting period
Other visitors have to wait one month before applying again.

Dubai: Citizens of 34 countries do not have to wait one month before applying for a visit visa after leaving the UAE, a senior Interior Ministry official said.
Currently visitors who leave the UAE even after a day's stay have to wait for a month before they can apply for a visit visa again.
"Citizens of nations who need to obtain an entry permit into the country through any one of the residency departments will not be able to apply for another visa immediately after they leave the country," Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, acting Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior for Naturalisation, Residency and Borders, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview.
Law
"Even if they stay here for two days and leave the country, they can come back after one month," he said. There is no multiple entry visit visa, Maj. Gen. Al Menhali stressed.
"If a visitor comes here, then goes on vacation to a nearby country and wants to come back, he should wait for one month before returning here," he said.
Maj. Gen. Al Menhali said these rules apply to people who need to apply for a visa prior entering the UAE.
"There are citizens of 34 countries who do not need a visa in advance. These citizens can get a visa upon arrival in the UAE," he said.
He said since the visa is issued upon arrival, these citizens can come back here any time they like.
"Citizens of these 34 countries need to show their passport to the immigration officer at any of the country's borders and they will have a new visa stamped. They can come and go as much as they want and at any time they want," he said.
Rules not new
"These rules are not new. But some people believe that they can come to the country and stay a couple of days and leave. They want to come back gain on the same visa believing that the visa has not expired yet, but they cannot. They have to wait for one month," he said.
Maj. Gen. Al Menhali said if a person stays for a day and leaves, the visa will be deemed expired even if the expiration date is later.
He said the one month waiting period is counted from the day the person leaves the country and not from the date of the visa expiration.
Multiple entry
Businessmen who need to enter and leave the country several times can apply for a multiple entry visa which is valid for six months, a senior Interior Ministry official said.
Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, acting Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior for Naturalisation, Residency and Borders, said once this multiple entry visa expires, businessmen have to wait for a month before applying for another visa.
This waiting period does not apply to citizens of 34 countries.
Maj. Gen. Al Menhali said the residency department deals with issuing visas on a case-by-case basis.
"We study each visa application and if it needs to be issued before the end of the one-month period, we can do it but it will depend on the circumstances of the visa applicant," the interior ministry official said.
The citizens of these 34 countries also do not have to wait a month before applying for a visit visa.
List of 34 countries
Andorra
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brunei
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Monaco
Netherlands (Holland)
New Zealand
Norway
Paraguay
Portugal
San Marino
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
Vatican City

The state of mental health in the UAE

Breaking news: Good old Sheikh Issa, who had previously admitted that he had been filmed beating, raping and horrifically torturing a grain dealer in 2004, was found not guilty by the court today, after his defense of being under the influence of drugs was - surprise surprise - accepted by the judge.

Photo: Scene from the video nasty of Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan torturing someone in 2004. He was only doing this due to the influence of drugs, obviously.

'Beyond reasonable doubt' is clearly a philosophy that does not apply to UAE trials, especially when you happen to be the brother of the ruler of the UAE and a son of Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's founding father.

...
A forensic medicine expert told the court in the previous hearing the medication Sheikh Issa was on “can cause anger, suicide, violence, depression and loss of memory”.

Funny how 'torturing the hell out of someone' was not actually one of the reported side effects...


Meanwhile, in totally unrelated news today, the Emirati man who had admitted raping and murdering a 4 year old boy in a mosque was declared sane by the expert Psychiatric Evaluation Board appointed by the courts. His valiant lawyer had entered the request as pretty much the only way to get his client off the death penalty, seeing as he'd already confessed several times, including in court.

In summary:
1/ Psychopathic homocidal paedophile who in the process of the horrible crime defiles a holy mosque in a crazed opportunistic frenzy, (a place where you're almost certain to get caught too) AND who confesses the crime despite there being a death penalty - sane.

2/ Commit Psychopathically Premeditated torture, get filmed in the act of anal rape (with a cattle prod) and committing grievous bodily harm, aided and abbetted by others (presumably not on psychotropic drugs), in revenge for being short changed on some grain while apparently on some medication that could, possibly, have side effects - innocent due to temporary insanity.

So all's well with the UAE Mental Health evaluation system then. One flew over the cuckoo's nest indeed...



I think both are excellent decisions.

A psychopathic nutcase will hopefully be executed very quickly for raping and murdering a 4 yr old.

While another psychopathic nutcase will demonstrate to the rest of the world the real fundamental principals of the UAE legal system when you are very important and related to the ruler of the country.

Blue City snapped up by Abu Dhabi ... and crazy UAE Drivers

In a post by new Muscat based blogger Sythe in his blog Muscat Mutterings, he highlighted the recent move to get the Blue City bonds at a discount by the well connected UAE company Essar Capital.

Further details in the story (see below) by The National.

Not a bad deal. The bonds are secured not just on Phase 1 but on the land for the entire Blue City project. Essar's cunning plan is to spend just some $300 million buying the required % of key secured bonds to control the whole deal. Thus they would be in a position to acquire the significant $1.5bln ITD that's already underway, plus get the cash and all the land, and the added value of lots of free Government infrastructure. All for $300mln. This is not a 'high risk high return' strategy as they try to say, its clearly a low risk high return investment.

The Dragon notes there are rumours that the real money behind the move is actually... Omani Government, and that they are effectively underwriting the UAE company as a front-purchaser to keep the price down on their purchase of the bonds. Makes a lot of sense if true. Essar provide the finance, and get a fat fee, plus I guess a share of the difference between any bonds that trade at less than 70%.

Meanwhile I got an email from an apparent purchaser of a Blue City apartment. He says the expected completion date has been moved to the very end of the contract period in 2012 (as far as it can without triggering deposit refund clauses), and that BCC1 staff bonuses due at end of contracts were accelerated and paid to staff this month? Maybe getting the most out of the last big pre-purchase $20mln deposit cheque??? Any comments from the BCC1 lurkers?

Blue City/BCC1 is turning into our main domestic AIG/GM story... except there's no actual news or investigations reported publicly. We need someone in Government to take control of this critical strategic project and provide the key backing and commitment to save it, along with a lot more sunlight on what's been going on at BCC1.

Meanwhile the UAE youth are also screwing us over with their SUVs...

UAE Drivers accused of rampaging over Oman’s wadis

Aug 02, 2009

With waterfalls, wildlife and temperatures as low as 18C, the wadis of southern Oman are an appealing destination for tourists looking to escape the summer heat.

But when they get there, drivers from the Emirates are not treating the lush, green land with the respect it deserves, complain the local authorities.

They accuse young drivers, especially, of cutting across the soft ground in their four-by-fours, pulling stunts that scar the vulnerable grassland during the area’s khareef, or monsoon, season.

“These youth show an uncivilised attitude,” said Ahmed Salem, the operations officer at the Governorate of Dhofar police command. He said drivers in SUVs with blacked-out windows regularly spoilt the greenery with stunts.

“They do things with the cars that are unacceptable. It’s a widespread phenomenon. They should respect the laws of the country they go in.”

And here's the play for Blue City. Strange that the Essar executive mentions their target discount range in public...

Omani investors shed Blue City bonds

Bradley Hope
August 02. 2009 6:30PM UAE

ABU DHABI // Essdar Capital’s bid to buy bonds related to the troubled Blue City property development in Oman is receiving a “strong response from the market”, with many holders accepting a 50 per cent discount on their bonds, a top executive says.

The fund is trying to obtain at least 75 per cent of two classes of bonds for the project in a “high-risk, high-return strategy”, said Suketu Sanghvi, the senior managing director of Essdar.

“I think the response is coming because for a very long time these bonds have been extremely illiquid,” Mr Sanghvi said. “Many of the investors wanted to get out of this investment.”

The arrival of Essdar Capital comes just weeks after Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings downgraded Blue City’s bonds to near junk status.

Executives at Blue City declined to comment yesterday. The project is the largest under development in Oman and involves building a city about 45 minutes north-west of Muscat.

Under the original plans, the US$20 billion (Dh73.46bn) development would include hospitals, schools and entertainment facilities for 200,000 residents by the end of its 20-year construction process.

With Oman’s oil supplies dwindling, Blue City was part of the country’s efforts to diversify its economy into new areas such as tourism. It was also an attempt to provide locals with more housing, which is in short supply.

But Blue City has been plagued by problems since its launch in 2006. A protracted legal dispute between two shareholders, AAJ Holding of Bahrain and Cyclone of Oman, over the ownership of the company is continuing. And sales have been under the targets set in the original bond documents.

As of August 1, Blue City had sold $53.9 million worth of units, far short of the $639m it expected to have. This prompted the ratings agencies to downgrade the bonds last month.

Moody’s said it was lowering the credit rating on about $399m of senior notes from the company to “Ba1” from “Baa3” because of “worse than expected transaction performance and a less favourable macroeconomic environment”.

Fitch Ratings downgraded four other classes of notes, worth $526m, to “CCC” and “C” from “B plus” and “B minus”, citing the deterioration of Oman’s property market.

“Demand for retail villa and apartment at integrated tourism resorts in Oman appears to have reduced significantly over the last 18 months and has collapsed entirely on the project itself, with no sign of recovery in the short or medium term,” Fitch said in a statement.

The agency said sales were so slow that there was not enough money to pay the construction contractor, AECO, and if “revenues do not significantly increase in the short term, money remaining from the advance payment will likely allow the contractor to be paid for approximately three more months”.

But Mr Sanghvi said Essdar Capital saw a high potential to make a return on the bonds, in part because the Omani tourism sector was growing.

“The good thing about this project is the tourism element,” he said. “We do believe in the story of tourism in Oman.”

The A1 and A3 bonds that Essdar is trying to acquire are also backed up by a cash deposit and land, which could be liquidated in the worst case scenario, Mr Sanghvi said.

The bonds represent about $661.5m of a total of $925m raised in the original bond offering. Essdar is trying to buy the A1 bonds at a discount of between 29 per cent and 50 per cent, and the A3 bonds at a discount of between 37 per cent and 50 per cent.

The goal, Mr Sanghvi said, was to obtain at least 75 per cent of the bonds so that Essdar Capital would have the majority of the voting rights to put it in a position of power when it comes to changing the terms of the bond, or deciding what to do if the company cannot meet its obligations.

T shirt gets man 1 month and deportation in Dubai

You've got to be increasingly careful what you do and wear in the UAE, as some poor guy found out after getting a month in prison and deportation for... wearing a T shirt.



Photo: The offending garment: Not for use in the UAE


OK, so its a pretty eye catching T shirt, part of a New York designer's skin cancer awareness campaign. But increasingly the UAE is becoming more draconian in the punishments meted out to expats accused of offending Emirati sensitivities. This sort of thing is going to hurt the tourist trade. Not so much the need to be sensible in dress terms, but the seemingly random severity of the punishments. I mean, a month in an Emirati prison and deportation for .... a T Shirt. And there aren't even any visible nipples.

Also strange that his lawyer wasn't even present at the appeal.

In other news, Bahrain indefinitely suspended, and 12 hrs later reinstated , a newspaper that printed an OpEd piece highly critical of the Iranian leadership and the recent elections. Criticism of a foreign leader (as long as Bahrain has diplomatic relations with the country) is illegal. And Shia sensitivities are very high, especially right now.

The BBC has a nice article looking at the election numbers statistically. In some provinces the results - while possible - seem pretty suspicious and unlikely without some degree of fraud.

...The study examines the results from this year and compares them with the first round from 2005, concluding that there would have to have been a huge swing from previously reform-minded voters into the Ahmadinejad camp.

The study says: "In a third of all provinces, the official results would require that Ahmadinejad took not only all former conservative voters, and all former centrist voters, and all new voters, but also up to 44% of former reformist voters, despite a decade of conflict between these two groups." ...

Commentaries on the Iranian elections, the alleged fraud, and the riots and deaths as the Iranian junta try to re-establish control of the streets with brute force, are problematic for the GCC. They don't want to annoy the Iranians, as things are tense enough over disputed islands, gas access, and Iran's increased support for Shia groups in the Sunni-dominated GCC. But they also can't support what's happening either without looking silly. So... no comment will be the order of the day please media. Oman is different and has both allowed official media to report on the situation from the wire services, and let Essa express support for the result too. Here's the disturbing story of the murder of a young woman by Iranian paramilitaries, when she was deliberately shot and killed for just standing in the road a few blocks away from the riots.

And here's the T shirt story. Take care with your wardrobe choices in the UAE folks!

Man in lewd T-shirt loses court appeal
Marten Youssef and Loveday Morris

Last Updated: June 18. 2009 11:16PM UAE

A Lebanese man is facing one month in jail and deportation for wearing a cancer awareness T-shirt depicting a near-naked woman, after losing an appeal yesterday.

In a brief hearing at Dubai Court of Appeals the judge upheld RN’s sentence of 30 days in jail followed by deportation on a charge of offending public decency. The defendant was not present. Neither was his lawyer.

According to court records RN, 28, was stopped at a bakery in Dubai on Nov 29 by an Arab man who confronted him over his T-shirt, which showed a nearly nude Victoria Beckham partially covered by the slogan “Protect the Skin You’re In”.
...
An argument ensued between the two, after which RN left to change his shirt, according to court documents. Police were called and three charges were initially pressed against the defendant: drunkenness, fleeing the scene of a conflict and offending public decency. The first two charges have since been dropped.

The defendant was detained for 48 hours, then released on bail. He submitted his passport to the police pending a judgment and was found guilty on April 19. He has been in prison since his first appeal hearing on June 11.

...
The defendant’s friend said there should be more clarity about the rules of dress in Dubai.

“You can go to the beach and see people wearing very little,” he said. “You can go to a mall or nightclub and see people dressed like that.”

The British government recently issued new travel advice for visitors to the UAE following a spate of high-profile cases of expatriates’ falling foul of the UAE’s rules on public behaviour.

The defendant is entitled to lodge a final appeal within 30 days.

Oman given a boost in 2009 US State Dept. Report on Human Trafficking

In a piece of good news for Oman and the Foreign Minister, the US State Dept.'s latest 2009 report on Human Trafficking has increased Oman from Tier 3 (bad) straight up to Tier 2 (not bad). Result!



The report summarises:

...The Government of Oman does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government’s enactment of anti-trafficking legislation and completion of its first prosecution under these provisions demonstrated increased commitment to combating trafficking during the reporting period....

The prosecution was the key, along with the distribution of leaflets to the manual labourers. The new American Ambassador will I'm sure be happy not to be being berated by Oman's Foreign Undersec this year!

Meanwhile, its now the UAE's turn to whine. The UAE Government officials responsible for their countries performance are now the ones sulking about how unfair their downgrade from Tier 2 to to Tier 2 Watch List is and that (naturally) its not their fault. LOL.

Gulf News:

....Rashid Musabah Al Kindi, member of the Federal National Council who sits on a committee for labour issues, said the report was not fair and the UAE was made to pay for other people's mistakes, referring to fraudsters in other countries who lure young women to the UAE for job opportunities and force them into prostitution.

On the issue of passports, he said: "Keeping workers' passports is the employer's right and not a violation for human rights as stated in the report".

"In case workers commit a crime then it is the employer's responsibility and keeping his passport will prevent him from leaving the country."

Abdul Rahim Al Shahin, also a member of the FNC, questioned why the UAE was being "attacked" when other countries' violations were not being talked about.

These countries would no way be working as hard as they are to improve the way they are dealing with Human Trafficking if it wasn't for this US report and the threat of trade sanctions it carries. The oft noted 'we don't read it/believe it, its all what we want to do anyway' crap is so laughable.

Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Chief of Dubai Police, said: "I stopped reading these reports several years ago. It's full of contradictions". He questioned the credibility of a report coming from a state "that violates human rights in front of the whole world".

"Our conscience dictates our efforts, and not the US government," he said.

Yeah, which is why you're back in T2WL...

The recently released video-nasty of a member of the UAE Royal Familty torturing an Afgan grain dealer, and the initial acceptance of it by the UAE Government, probably didn't help either. Nor too the fact that during the year a member of a UAE ruling family and six of her traveling party were charged by a Belgian court for subjecting at least 17 Asian and Middle Eastern girls into forced labor as domestic servants.

But we need to keep our efforts going in Oman or we'll be back on the Watch List too next year. More needs to be done for the housemaids especially, and the manual laborers, and for the poor prostitutes being hidden away in Ruwi and Adam. We need shelters for Domestic maids to flee to, and support from the Government to take their abusive employers to court. The practice of passport confiscation remains widespread. The practice of Omani men going on sex tours to Thailand is never mentioned in the media, nor the fact that they are indirectly supporting the enslavement of innocent girls and women.

The Unions should be supported more too - afterall, they are what forced the West's industry to improve safety and working conditions (before later going a bit power crazy and bankrupting companies like GM). It's quite bizaar, for example, that apparently the head of Galfar's Workers Union is... their senior HR Director. No conflict of interest there then...

UAE pulls plug on common currency, Yemeni has Omani passport revolked.

In a dramatic move in response to the GCC monetary council deciding to base the planned Central Bank in Saudi, the UAE announced its withdrawal from the single currency scheme. Oman had pulled out a couple of years ago.




The UAE have said they will reconsider as long as that decision is reversed and the new bank is hosted in Abu Dhabi, according to reports today in the Gulf News.

UAE has most suitable financial infrastructure in region: Al Mansouri

By Himendra Mohan Kumar, Staff Reporter
Published: May 21, 2009, 23:15

Abu Dhabi: A rethink by the UAE on its decision to pull out of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) monetary union plans is possible, provided Abu Dhabi is chosen over Riyadh as the location for the proposed GCC Central Bank, Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri said here on Thursday.

"The decision has to go back to the cabinet of the UAE. We have to feel comfortable with the decision ourselves," Al Mansouri told reporters.

Earlier this month, the GCC secretariat announced that the proposed GCC Central Bank would be located in Riyadh, a decision which disappointed the UAE and prompted its decision to formally pull out of the proposed Gulf monetary union on Wednesday.

The UAE Central Bank Governor Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi said there will be no change in the UAE's monetary policy and that the dirham will remain pegged to the dollar.

The UAE move jeopardised the future of the region's single currency aspirations, which is aimed to encourage trade and financial integration.

"We are very practical and open. UAE has the most suitable financial infrastructure in the region and we were the first nation to apply to host the GCC Central Bank in Abu Dhabi," said Al Mansouri.

He said the UAE had supported bids of other countries for hosting different GCC bodies. "We do not have any of the GCC organisations on UAE soil," said Al Mansouri.

However, he added that the UAE would continue to support the GCC monetary union.

"We are still part of the GCC economic structure," said Mansouri.

A UAE Central Bank source told Gulf News previously the country had been told initially that it would host the GCC Central Bank.

"The work on the headquarters [in Abu Dhabi] was done and the place was ready to start operations," he said, adding that the UAE was "taken off guard" by the decision to base the bank in Saudi Arabia.

The GCC in 2001 agreed to form an EU-style monetary union. Oman pulled out in 2007. Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are still part of the project.

Its a nice tale of the tense nature of relationships in the GCC. Without the UAE, second biggest economy in the GCC, the single currency will be a damp squib.

Meanwhile, Yemen's recent request for Oman to stop protecting a former Yemeni politician was granted. See News Yemen .

Oman withdraws citizenship from Yemeni former vice president
21/05/2009
MUSCAT, NewsYemen

The Sultanate of Oman announced on Thursday withdrawal of the Omani citizenship from Ali Salim Al-Beidh following his announcement to return to the political activity.

Official Saba quoted a statement attributed to the Oman News Agency (ONA) as saying that the Sultanate Police has confirmed "the Omani citizenship has been withdrawn from Ali Salim Al-Bidh immediately according to the Omani laws enforced".
"Al-Bidh has taken his decision without permission from the Sultanate to which he headed for in 1994," said the statement.

The source affirmed that "the Sultanate of Oman will ever continue to be the loyal neighbor for Yemen and wishes it every progress and welfare."
...

Oman turns down the Iranian gas deal, starts negotiations with Qatar

It might seem that the cold winds of global ression are starting to bite in Muscat. Reuters story released today by oil and gas magazine Upstream that - surprise surprise - Oman will NOT be paying $12 bln to develop the Iranian Kish gas field right now because of "tight credit markets".

Actually, there are several reasons for this delay.

While Oman's credit is pretty good right now, and there is a load of cash around for the right projects, investing that sort of dosh in Iran is something Oman would prefer to do with someone else's money, with repayments tied to the gas arriving in Oman.

And of course Oman LLC is suffering a significantly reduced income right now, after last years all time record haul due to high oil price (and the solid production gain compared to 2007). So cash for new projects is obviously tighter.

But the real reason for this delay is probably that the Iranians were simply asking waaaay too high a price for the gas. My sources tell me the price being discussed could have worked out at more than US$14/Mscf.

Compare that to the prices being paid by the Sohar industry (rumoured to be about $0.80 to $1 per Mscf). It would have been cheaper for Oman to just re-import their own LNG exports than pay those sort of prices...

Hopefully the Iranians - whose economy is now even deeper in the shit than it was a year ago - will realise what an opportunity they have lost by being so greedy.

Oman are now taking the opportunity to try and get more from the Qataris - and also making sure the Iranians know it by having Oman Gas Company execs telling the wire services.

Oman Gas wants more from Dolphin

State-owned Oman Gas Company is seeking extra gas imports from the United Arab Emirates' Dolphin Energy to meet rising demand in the sultanate, a company official said today.

Dolphin exports 5.5 million cubic metres per day to non-Opec producer Oman, Nasser Rasbi, a technical director with the company told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.

"We are in talks with Dolphin to increase imports," Reuters quoted Rasbi as saying. "Oman needs more gas because of demand in power and industrial that are taking more gas...Oman needs additional gas this year or latest next year," he said.

Oman Gas handles about 40% of the country's dry gas distribution, mainly to commercial users, he said. Its suppliers include Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) which supplies the bulk of the gas, Occidental Petroleum and Dolphin.

Renegotiation anyone? After all, it is a buyers market... And a year 'delay' in the Iranian deal might be enough to get Qatar to try and sell a bit more and keep the Iranians out. The Americans I'm sure would be keen to help Oman get gas from Qatar rather than Iran too.

Perhaps Iran was just a stalking horse?

Kish delayed on credit crunch

Oman will delay by at least a year a joint venture with Iran to develop the Kish gas field due to tight finances, an Omani industry source involved in the project said today.

Oman is struggling to fund energy development projects after the financial crisis
made it hard to get credit.

The project to develop the Iranian gas field had a price tag of up to $12 billion that Oman had agreed to fund fully.

"The production from the Kish gas field will not happen in 2012 as planned," the
source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "The uncertainty of the global financial crunch has forced Oman to put the project on hold for a year." Oman's oil and gas minister said last year the financial crisis would likely impact the country's energy projects and cause delays.

An Omani energy official said last year the Kish development was expected to be signed off in December 2008 and the project would be wholly funded by the Gulf Arab state. A 200 kilometre subsea pipeline from the field, would run from Musandam, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, to Sohar in Oman. Phase one of the project would transport gas to Oman at a rate of 1 billion cubic feet per day, later rising to 3 Bcfd.

Iran has the world's second-biggest gas reserves but has been slow to develop gas exports and has no LNG facilities, which super cool gas so it can be exported by ship. The Islamic Republic has increasingly turned towards Asia and elsewhere to develop its oil and gas sector as sanctions and US pressure have prevented US and European companies from investing there. But long contract negotiations and poor terms have delayed many of the preliminary gas export deals Iran has signed.
Oman has struggled to keep up with rising domestic gas demand from industry and power generation.

Sadistic Torture tape by Abu Dhabi Sheikh Issa gets UAE in trouble

This is starting to become a UAE blog… ah well. Here's another reason why it's better to live in Oman...

This is a story you are not likely to see reported in the UAE papers. The mighty Abu Dhabi is in a bit of trouble over the actions of one Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, brother of the country's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed and also younger brother of the President of the U.A.E., Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed.

Tapes released by a former business partner of the Sheikh, and broadcast last week by US network ABC, showed the UAE Sheikh personally torturing an Afghan trader over a missing load of grain. The story was around in mid-2008, but now that ABC have broadcast it, the issue is again in the news: the main question is what will the new US Administration do?





The 45min video shows the man, whose identity in the tape was apparently confirmed by the UAE Ministry of the Interior as indeed being Sheikh Issa, clobbering him with wood panels from which nails protrude and electrocuting his genitals and anus. He then pours salt over the man's wounds and drives over him with a Mercedes SUV. Perhaps more worrying, he is clearly assisted in all this by a uniformed UAE Policeman.

The tape can be seen at UAETorture.com, but be warned, it is exceptionally sickening (apparently my readers from the UAE without VPN cover will not be able to go to this website, funnily enough!).

The main issue is that the UAE Government decided that, because the Afgan who was tortured survived and is apparently unwilling to press charges, it’s all OK – despite the presence of UAE Police helping to hold him down. The event was filmed in 2005, and the US Embassy was also made aware at the time but chose to simply give it a one-liner in the 2008 Human Rights report for the UAE. I guess it helps when your brother is the Minister of the Interior, and that the hapless GW Bush's administration was keen not to offend one of its main regional allies, especially over torture - a subject GW was having his own problems with.

You can read the full story at ABC News.

ABC News Exclusive: Torture Tape Implicates UAE Royal Sheikh.
Police in Uniform Join In as Victim Is Whipped, Beaten, Electrocuted, Run Over by SUV

A video tape smuggled out of the United Arab Emirate shows a member of the country's royal family mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails.

…

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."

….
The Sheikh begins by stuffing sand down the man's mouth, as the police officers restrain the victim. Then he fires bullets from an automatic rifle around him as the man howls incomprehensibly.

At another point on the tape, the Sheikh can be seen telling the cameraman to come closer. "Get closer. Get closer. Get closer. Let his suffering show," the Sheikh says.

Over the course of the tape, Sheikh Issa acts in an increasingly sadistic manner.

He uses an electric cattle prod against the man's testicles and inserts it in his anus. At another point, as the man wails in pain, the Sheikh pours lighter fluid on the man's testicles and sets them aflame. Then the tape shows the Sheikh sorting through some wooden planks. "I remember there was one that had a nail in it," he says on the tape.

The Sheikh then pulls down the pants of the victim and repeatedly strikes him with board and its protruding nail. At one point, he puts the nail next to the man's buttocks and bangs it through the flesh.

"Where's the salt," asks the Sheikh as he pours a large container of salt on to the man's bleeding wounds.

The victim pleads for mercy, to no avail.

The final scene on the tape shows the Sheikh positioning his victim on the desert sand and then driving over him repeatedly. A sound of breaking bones can be heard on the tape.

Sheikh Issa's lawyer, Daryl Bristow of Baker Botts in Houston, told ABC News "the tape is the tape."

The torture victim was identified by Nabulsi as an Afghan grain dealer, Mohammed Shah Poor, who the Sheikh accused of short changing on a grain delivery to his royal ranch on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

The UAE government, in its statement, says the matter was settled privately between the Sheikh and the grain dealer, "by agreeing not to bring formal charges against each other, i.e., theft on the one hand and assault on the other hand."

Meanwhile, in other UAE news:

An Omani prisoner, identified only as Mahmoud, escaped from a UAE hospital a couple of days ago, after serving a year in Jail in Sharjah for smuggling vehicles.see Gulf News.

Prisoner at large will be given longer jail term when caught
By Mariam M. Al Serkal Staff Reporter
Published: April 27, 2009, 23:54

Sharjah: A runaway convict has been at large since Sunday and police are unable to confirm whether he is still in the country.
...
The 25-year-old Omani prisoner, identified by police as Mahmoud, was serving a jail term for smuggling vehicles out of the country and taking them to other Gulf States.

The police official also pointed out that the convict had already spent more than one year at Sharjah Central Jail.
...
The prisoner was transferred to a room at the Osteopathy Department where he escaped after removing the handcuffs and jumping out of the third-floor room

Dubai are upping their inspections of their squalid labourer camps following the recent reports in the UK media on how dire conditions are. Good to see the media doing its job. Pity it wasn't the local reporters...

And, again after international pressure, the UAE prison service have released British woman (and ex-Omani florist) Marnie Pearce early and suspended her deportation order.

Pearce released after serving adultery term
Rasha Abu Baker and Nour Samaha

Last Updated: April 27. 2009 11:00PM UAE / April 27. 2009 7:00PM GMT DUBAI // A British woman who was sentenced to three months in prison for committing adultery was yesterday released from Dubai Central Jail.

A spokesperson for the prison said Marnie Pearce, 40, was released at around 9am after serving 68 days of her three-month sentence. An order to deport Ms Pearce after serving her sentence has been suspended, the spokesperson said.

“She has been released but her passport is being held. Ms Pearce will not be leaving the country because her deportation order was suspended and for some unresolved legal reasons her passport is being held with public prosecution,” she said.
...

One law for all in UAE? Not.

As is often the case, little of note to report in Oman, except the apparent total abscence of any Omani media follow-up to local blogger Ali's conviction last week (see previous post. Has anyone seen anything in the official media here?)

But I noticed 3 interesting sex related sentences handed down by the courts in the UAE last week (unlike Oman, even the UAE newspapers publish interesting court case outcomes).



Case 1: A Filipino waiter who had what sounds like careless consensual sex with a drunk 16 yr old at his birthday party, gets 3 years in prison followed by deportation for statutory rape. The girl only reported the sexual encounter 6 months later, after she found herself pregnant.

The Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday sentenced the 27-year-old Filipino accused to three years' imprisonment after he was found guilty of having sex with a minor against her will. Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout, who pronounced yesterday's verdict, said the accused will be deported after serving his punishment.
…
The 27-year-old claimed that he had consensual sex with the girl and denied intoxicating her drink and raping her during his birthday party, as charged by the Public Prosecution.

The lawyer said the girl had sex with two other men and when she discovered her pregnancy (six months after the incident), she accused R.B. of making her pregnant.

Case 2: A British woman, Marnie Pearce, while trying to get divorced from her crazy adulterous Egyptian husband, was accused of having sex with a male friend when separated from the hubby. Found guilty, she loses custody of her 2 young sons, and gets 3 months in prison (reduced from 6 on appeal), to be followed by deportation.

(Although the international outcry is having an effect – Dubai have apparently promised to review the deportation order…)


Case 3: An Emirati man who was found guilty of raping his 22 yr old Indonesian maid gets… 6 months suspended.

... Records said the accused dropped his children and a second Indonesian maid he had employed at a park before rushing home to have sex with the victim.

Public Prosecution records quoted the maid accusing the mechant, who is her sponsor, of trying to pay her Dh1,000, which she rejected, before he raped her.
"He walked into my room while I was ironing the family's clothes... he offered to pay me Dh1,000 in cash, which I refused because it was not my salary. Then he used one hand to silence me, undressed me with the other hand, and raped me," the woman claimed in her statement to the Public Prosecution.

The merchant was charged with raping the housemaid. Medical reports confirmed that she lost her virginity due to the incident.

So, that’s alright then.