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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5378 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5378

   To make certain members of the royal families of the United Arab 
Emirates ineligible for visas or admission to the United States and to 
revoke visas and other entry documents previously issued to such family 
    members until Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan has been tried in 
 accordance with international legal norms and human rights standards, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2010

 Mr. McGovern introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To make certain members of the royal families of the United Arab 
Emirates ineligible for visas or admission to the United States and to 
revoke visas and other entry documents previously issued to such family 
    members until Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan has been tried in 
 accordance with international legal norms and human rights standards, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``United Arab Emirates Human Rights 
Accountability Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan is the brother of 
        United Arab Emirates (hereinafter in this section referred to 
        as ``UAE'') president and Abu Dhabi Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin 
        Zayed al-Nahayan.
            (2) On April 22, 2009, ABC Nightline broadcast a few 
        minutes of videotape documenting the severest forms of torture 
        and abuse of an Afghan grain dealer, Mohammed Shah Poor, 
        inflicted by Sheikh Issa assisted by other uniformed 
        individuals acting under color of authority.
            (3) During Mr. Poor's ordeal, Sheikh Issa repeatedly 
        insisted that his and his cronies actions be videotaped, 
        reportedly for his later enjoyment of the extreme suffering of 
        his victim, who miraculously survived the attack.
            (4) Excerpts of this video have been circulated on YouTube 
        and longer footage was submitted in a United States civil court 
        in 2009.
            (5) Around 2004, the matter was brought to the attention of 
        the UAE Ministry of Interior, which is headed by another of 
        Sheikh Issa's brothers. The Interior Ministry failed to 
        investigate this matter, and when ABC News brought it again to 
        their attention, the Ministry replied that the incidents were 
        not part of a pattern of behavior and that the police had 
        correctly followed procedures.
            (6) Human Rights Watch stated, regarding this incident: 
        ``The UAE government's failure to prosecute those involved in 
        this undisputed incident of torture and abuse at the hands of a 
        royal family member and the police is an appalling miscarriage 
        of justice. What's even more shocking is the government's 
        insistence that it investigated and found no violation of UAE 
        laws.''.
            (7) Only after an international outcry regarding the lack 
        of action by UAE law enforcement and legal authorities and a 
        hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. 
        House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, did Sheikh 
        Issa finally have to face charges before a UAE court.
            (8) On January 10, 2010, the UAE court acquitted Sheikh 
        Issa of the charges of rape, endangering life and causing 
        bodily harm. According to Sheikh Issa's attorney, the court 
        accepted their defense that Sheikh Issa had been under the 
        influence of drugs.
            (9) In addition, the UAE court convicted Bassam and Ghassan 
        Nabulsi, sentenced in absentia to five years each in prison. 
        Bassam and Ghassan Nabulsi were former business partners of 
        Sheikh Issa, who had filmed the attack and kept the video tape 
        and ultimately brought a civil suit in the United States 
        against Sheikh Issa during which they submitted the film.

SEC. 3. VISA LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF 
              UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.

    (a) Ineligible for Visas.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), an 
        alien is ineligible to receive a visa to enter the United 
        States and ineligible to be admitted to the United States who 
        the Secretary of State determines to be--
                    (A) a member of the royal families of the United 
                Arab Emirates; and
                    (B) an officer or employee of the government of the 
                United Arab Emirates.
            (2) Waiver for national interests.--The Secretary of State 
        may waive paragraph (1) in the case of an alien if the 
        Secretary determines that such a waiver would be in the 
        national interests of the United States. Upon granting such a 
        waiver, the Secretary of State shall provide notice to the 
        Congress.
            (3) Termination.--The provisions of this subsection shall 
        cease to be effective on the date that the Secretary of State 
        transmits to the Congress a statement certifying the following:
                    (A) That the Secretary has determined that the 
                government of the United Arab Emirates has established 
                an independent entity within that government that has 
                authority to investigate an individual described in 
                paragraph (1).
                    (B) That the Secretary has determined that Sheikh 
                Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan has been tried, in accordance 
                with what the Secretary determines to be appropriate 
                international legal norms and human rights standards, 
                for all offenses described in paragraph (4).
            (4) Offenses described.--An offense described in this 
        paragraph is any offense under the law of the United Arab 
        Emirates--
                    (A) that was committed in connection with the 
                assault on Mohammed Shah Poor; and
                    (B) for which Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan has 
                not been tried as of the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Current Visas Revoked.--The Secretary of State, in accordance 
with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1201(i)), shall revoke the nonimmigrant visa or other documentation of 
any alien who is rendered ineligible for such visa or documentation 
under subsection (a).
    (c) Terminology.--The terms used in this Act shall have the 
meanings given such terms in section 101(a) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)).
                                 <all>
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