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 broad-
cast a few minutes of videotape documenting the se-
verest 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 re-
peatedly 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 
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Interior Ministry failed to investigate this matter, 
and when ABC News brought it again to their atten-
tion, 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 pros-
ecute 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 govern-
ment’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 ac-
quitted Sheikh Issa of the charges of rape, endan-
gering life and causing bodily harm. According to 
Sheikh Issa’s attorney, the court accepted their de-
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fense 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 EMIR-
ATES. 
(a) INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (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 de-
termines to be— 
(A) a member of the royal families of the 
United Arab Emirates; and 
(B) an officer or employee of the govern-
ment of the United Arab Emirates. 
(2) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL INTERESTS.—The 
Secretary of State may waive paragraph (1) in the 
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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 Con-
gress. 
(3) TERMINATION.—The provisions of this sub-
section 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 Emir-
ates has established an independent entity with-
in that government that has authority to inves-
tigate 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 de-
termines to be appropriate international legal 
norms and human rights standards, for all of-
fenses described in paragraph (4). 
(4) OFFENSES
DESCRIBED.—An offense de-
scribed 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 
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(B) for which Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al- 
Nahyan has not been tried as of the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
(b) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.—The Secretary of 
State, in accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigra-
tion 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 docu-
mentation 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)). 
Æ 
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