UAE protests 'abusive' US arrest, advises not to wear national dress abroad

The United Arab Emirates summoned a senior US diplomat on Sunday to protest the "abusive treatment" of a UAE citizen as it advised citizens to avoid wearing national attire abroad.

The foreign ministry expressed "discontent" to US embassy deputy chief of mission Ethan Goldrich and demanded clarifications over the detention of an Emirati businessman suspected of being a militant.

The 41-year-old, visiting the United States for medical treatment, was wearing a white robe and traditional headdress when he was arrested at a hotel in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday after an employee suspected he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group, apparently in a phone call.

The clerk had reportedly complained of “an Arabic man with multiple phones pledging his allegiance to ISIS or something”.

A video of the resulting incident, posted on YouTube, shows several policemen armed with rifles take down Ahmed al-Menhali then handcuff and search him.

"They were brutal with me. They pressed forcefully on my back. I had several injuries and bled from the forceful nature of their arrest," Menhali said, quoted in The National daily.

The Emirati foreign ministry, in a statement posted on Twitter, urged citizens "not to wear national dress during their travel, especially in public areas, to ensure their own safety".

Translation: We advise citizens who travel outside the country not to wear national dress during their travel, especially in public areas, to ensure their own safety

After confirming that Menhali posed no danger, the policemen freed the Emirati, who said he collapsed and needed treatment in hospital.

The foreign ministry said it expressed "discontent over the abusive treatment by the Ohio police of a UAE citizen" as well as the posting of a video showing his arrest, which contained "defamation of the UAE national".

"The UAE cares for the safety of its citizens and, therefore, demands clarifications about this incident," it said in a statement carried by WAM state news agency.

Goldrich "apologised" for the incident, pledging to get clarifications from authorities in the state of Ohio, WAM said.

A picture of Menhali carried by local news site The Chronicle showed him lying in a hospital bed holding up a poster of the Biblical Nativity scene, saying he had been dressed similarly to the three wise men of Christian tradition.

He added, in statements to The Chronicle, that white robes are typically only worn by wealthy people in the UAE, and that it would be very rare to see a suicide bomber or militant wearing such dress.

Anti-Muslim incidents have spiked in the United States on the back of deadly IS attacks in the West, which prompted presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.

Menhali directly blamed such rhetoric for the incident, saying: “I am a victim of the propaganda of Mr Trump.”

Menhali had been in the United States since April for treatment after a brain stroke he suffered last year, said Emarat Al-Youm, another UAE daily.

Menhali, a father of three, told local media in Ohio that he feared the incident could lead to a further stroke.