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Dubai and rape: French youth tells his story
International Herald Tribune ^ | Thanassis Cambanis

Posted on 12/28/2007 8:27:07 PM PST by ChesireKat

Alexandre Robert, a French 15-year-old gang raped in Dubai

___________

 They drove Alex past his house and into a dark patch of desert, between a row of new villas and a power plant, took away his cellphone, threatened him with a knife and a club and told him they would kill his family members if he ever reported them.

Then, Alex says, they stripped off his pants and one by one sodomized him in the back seat of the car. They dumped Alex on the side of the road across from one of Dubai's luxury hotel towers.

[...]

The authorities not only discouraged Alex from pressing charges, he says; they have left open the possibility of charging Alex with criminal homosexual activity, and neglected to inform him or his parents that one of his attackers had tested HIV positive while in prison four years earlier.

[...]

Most infuriating to Alex and his mother, Veronique Robert, they said, the police inaccurately informed French diplomats on Aug. 15, a month after the assault, that the three attackers were disease-free. Only at the end of August did the family learn that the 36-year-old assailant was HIV positive. The case file contains a positive HIV test for the convict dated March 26, 2003.

"They lied to us," Robert said. "Now the Damocles sword of AIDS hangs over Alex."

[...]

In early October, however, the family's lawyer warned him that the authorities were weighing charges of homosexuality against Alex, which carry a prison term of one year.

[...]

Ko said violent rape was common, and that most foreign victims remained silent rather than face deportation or a prison term for homosexuality if they reported an assault.

(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dubai; monsters; rape; uae
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That poor child! It's not too surprising that the UAE would have tried to cover up gay rape when even the brother of the UAE ruler is even into gay assault...

------Article--------

'Gay' Sheik Is Dissed, Gets Pissed

Sheik Fallah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan--say that five times really fast--who is the younger brother of the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, stands trial in Geneva for assaulting US businessman Silvano Orsi, who allegedly spurned The Notorious S.F.B.Z.B.S.A.N's sexual advances. Apparently Sheik Fallah sent Orsi a bottle of Dom Perignon, and then tried to sit in his lap and "fondle" him. But Sheik Fallah became angry when Orsi protested--and in true Shiek form, he alledgedly threw Orsi to the floor, punched him in the face, and whipped him with his belt. The Sheik said he was annoyed when Orsi refused the champagne, but only confronted him "after I was called gay." As if. Although when you're from a country that will send you to jail for going to a gay wedding, you're bound to freak out at these things.

Source (site NSFW)

1 posted on 12/28/2007 8:27:09 PM PST by ChesireKat
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To: ChesireKat
Odds are good the top sheikh is also gay ~ or maybe a pedophile, hence the business with Michael Jackson.

Just what will these Arabian nights pukes think of next.

2 posted on 12/28/2007 8:31:02 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: ChesireKat

Why do people go to places that don’t have decent legal protection for this type of stuff?

Visit and work in countries where a legal system exists that protects you.


3 posted on 12/28/2007 8:31:04 PM PST by ConservativeMind
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To: ChesireKat

Islam is as Islam does.


4 posted on 12/28/2007 8:31:21 PM PST by FormerLib (Sacrificing our land and our blood cannot buy protection from jihad.-Bishop Artemije of Kosovo)
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To: ChesireKat
Gee, mohamadean scumbag rapists who get away with it because, you know, infidels' (and women's) testimony is worthless under the RoP's sharia law, and rape victims are the ones punished by their islamist satanic cultures. Call me shocked. NOT.

Anyone who goes to one of these barbaric states really is putting his or her safety and/or life in their own hands...

5 posted on 12/28/2007 8:34:45 PM PST by piytar
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To: piytar
Anyone who goes to one of these barbaric states really is putting his or her safety and/or life in their own the barbarians' hands...

Fixed that...

6 posted on 12/28/2007 8:36:55 PM PST by piytar
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To: ConservativeMind

Dubai has spent a lot of money trying to present itself as this great modern place and a lot of westerners see the tall buildings, the beaches, the posh shopping malls, and believe it. They don’t realize how backwards things truly are.

Someone actually said to me the other day that Dubai is more modern than most American places. People are so clueless.


7 posted on 12/28/2007 8:37:48 PM PST by ChesireKat (-ChesHireKat)
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To: ChesireKat

When the Taliban were in power, only 3 countries in the world recognized them. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were 2 of them. Guess which was the third?


8 posted on 12/28/2007 8:41:05 PM PST by Romneyfor President2008
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To: ChesireKat

Clueless until they are treated to the UAE’s version of “Deliverance”.


9 posted on 12/28/2007 8:43:35 PM PST by WildcatClan (Vote Hunter for President)
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To: piytar

He was only 15; obviously it wasn’t his choice to go there. This poor boy first had to deal with the physical and psychological trauma that comes with gang rape, and then the fear that he might go to jail for being raped, but now he finds out one of his attackers has HIV and his own health (and life) is at risk. So terrible.


10 posted on 12/28/2007 8:46:08 PM PST by ChesireKat (-ChesHireKat)
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To: ChesireKat

Sheik accused in camel jockey abuse plot

By JANET PATTON

Lexington Herald-Leader

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Sheik Mohammed, one of the richest horse buyers in Kentucky and the world, has been implicated in the slave trade of child camel jockeys by a cable TV news program.

A report aired this week on HBO’s Real Sports includes footage of appalling living conditions at camel-training camps and alleges that boy camel jockeys — some as young as 3 — are kidnapped or sold into slavery, starved, beaten and raped. The report links the abuses to Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.

Sheik Mohammed is the crown prince of Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates. He also serves as defense minister for the UAE.

No representative of the Maktoum organization would comment on the report. Sheik Mohammed owns two horse farms in the Bluegrass — Raceland in Paris and Darley at Jonabell in Lexington; no one from the farms would respond publicly.

And an e-mail sent Friday afternoon to Sheik Mohammed from his official Web site was not answered.

The report, which HBO says was filmed in the UAE, is not specific about the locations of the camps featured. Some appear to be in Abu Dhabi, which is also in the UAE. The report lays the responsibility for these atrocities at the feet of ‘’the rulers of the United Arab Emirates I the sheiks.’’

But it focuses on only one member of any UAE royal family: Sheik Mohammed. At least some of the boy jockeys shown are allegedly at the Dubai camel track, which is owned and run by the Maktoum family.

The report calls the track ‘’the playground of the crown prince’’ and contrasts the boys’ hovels with the treatment of Sheik Mohammed’s horses and camels.

HBO correspondent Bernard Goldberg said on the report that HBO received a letter from unnamed UAE officials who said that they were ‘’shocked that this is happening’’ and that they ‘’are adamantly against it.’’

The UAE, a confederation of Arab states, in 1993 banned the use of jockeys under the age of 15 or under 45 kilograms (99 pounds); in 2002, it reiterated the ban.

Greg Sullivan, chief spokesman for the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs Bureau, said State Department officials have urged the UAE to aggressively crack down on the trafficking of underage camel jockeys and are looking into the allegations raised in the HBO documentary.

‘’If the allegations prove true, the U.S. will use that information to further engage the United Arab Emirates government on that issue,’’ he said.

Sullivan said that the State Department asked HBO to provide the names of the underage children featured in the documentary, but HBO declined to provide the information.

The State Department’s 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report said the UAE government has made ‘’substantial efforts’’ to crack down on the trafficking of children for camel jockey work, but Sullivan said the practice still exists as ‘’a form of human slavery.’’

State Department officials have urged the UAE to impose a minimum age of 18 for camel jockeys.

Kentucky ties

Sheik Mohammed and other members of the Maktoum family have long been fixtures at the thoroughbred auctions at Keeneland. Under the royal blue silks of Godolphin, the family racing stable, the Maktoums have run horses in the biggest races in Europe and the United States, including the Kentucky Derby. The Maktoums annually hold the richest race in the world — the Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba — and they fly the best horses and trainers there to compete.

Kiaran McLaughlin, a Lexington native who now trains horses in New York, spent a decade working for the Maktoums in Dubai. He said on Friday that he and other horse workers were well-treated.

McLaughlin said that he trained within half a mile of the camels but never saw any abuse or signs of child slavery. ‘’I don’t know about that. I can tell you that I lived there and loved it,’’ McLaughlin said.

‘’I can promise you Sheik Mohammed did not abuse any children,’’ he said.

Members of the racing press, including a Herald-Leader photographer and reporter, were invited to Dubai in 1999 and given a tour of the country. While there, they saw tiny jockeys who appeared much younger than 15.

And Anti-Slavery International, a human rights group, in June 2004 released photos that they said were taken in Dubai showing child jockeys; they accused the UAE of keeping the boys in brutal conditions.

Kentuckians Marci and Todd Boston lived in Dubai for years. Todd Boston moved to Dubai in 1995 to work as a blacksmith for Sheik Mohammed. His wife joined him in 1996; Marci left in 2000; Todd left in 2002.

They always said that they loved their time in Dubai, thought of it as a second home, and meant to return someday.

But the Bostons said Friday they are very disturbed by the HBO report, and in retrospect by what they saw in Dubai.

They remember child camel jockeys.

‘’You kind of knew about it. You knew about the little kids,’’ Todd Boston said, but they never heard about sexual abuse or beatings.

But based on the way he saw Arabs treat adult workers from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, he said, he isn’t surprised by the allegations of child abuse.

The HBO report said many of the child jockeys were from slums in those countries.

Marci Boston said that she heard rumors at the time that the boys were ‘’taken’’ from poor homes in South Asia, but that she never imagined the conditions they were living in while in Dubai.

Todd Boston said that in the morning as he went to the horse track he would wait as the camels crossed the road to their track.

‘’There would be a pickup truck following them with little bitty kids in the back, with little helmets on, waving,’’ Boston said.

The Bostons are haunted by the memory of one green-eyed boy, about 4 years old they think, who they saw at the camel market wearing a helmet.

The boy stared at them as if he were ‘’desperate for love,’’ Todd Boston said. They have no idea what happened to him.

‘’This is a double-edged sword. I worked for Sheik Mohammed and I respect him very much, but on the other side, I am just horrified by this,’’ he said.

‘’I expect to hear from Sheik Mohammed. We need explanations,’’ Marci Boston said. ‘’I’m so angry. We were there — we saw the kids riding camels. I don’t have a doubt about it.’’

More on thread (Dubai bump thread)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1519343/posts?page=24#24

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1519343/posts?page=26#26

>>>They dazzled Kyrgyz girls with promises of well-paid work in Dubai as waitresses and dancers. Special companies took care of all the travel arrangements. But, as soon as they arrived in Dubai, the girls were relieved of their passports and forced into prostitution by the racketeers.<<<
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1519343/posts?page=27#27


11 posted on 12/28/2007 8:48:41 PM PST by Calpernia (Hunters Rangers - Raising the Bar of Integrity http://www.barofintegrity.us)
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To: muawiyah

A*sslifter to a*slifter..


12 posted on 12/28/2007 8:53:08 PM PST by sheik yerbouty ( Make America and the world a jihad free zone!)
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To: ChesireKat

Okay wait, now I’m confused. Is it Islamic to push walls over onto homosexuals, or is it Islamic to sweep homosexual rapes under the magic carpet?


13 posted on 12/28/2007 8:54:44 PM PST by Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus (Fred Head and proud of it! Fear the Fred!)
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To: ChesireKat

Oh, I wasn’t blaming the kid. No way he deserved this. I was blaming the barbarians and their culture. Also, I should have made it clear that my comment about people choosing to go to such “nations” applies only to adults. I’ll add, though, that you have to be plain insane to take your children there. Putting their safety in the hands of these animals is unconscionable.


14 posted on 12/28/2007 8:57:03 PM PST by piytar
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To: ChesireKat
Remember the attempt by a UAE corporation to buy management rights at U.S. ports?

From Wikipedia: "Although the sale was approved by the executive branch of the United States Government, various United States political figures [including Duncan Hunter] argued that the takeover would compromise U.S. port security. U.S. President George W. Bush argued vigorously for the approval of the deal, claiming that the delay sends the wrong message to U.S. allies."

15 posted on 12/28/2007 9:00:20 PM PST by hellbender
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To: Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

I guess it depends who’s getting raped. If it’s Muslims raping a male kuffar or a woman (or wealthy important Muslims raping poor Muslims) then sweeping it under the rug and/or blaming the victim seems to be all the rage.


16 posted on 12/28/2007 9:02:24 PM PST by ChesireKat (-ChesHireKat)
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To: piytar
Well, the one good thing that has come out of this is the boy's mother is doing a lot to make what happened known so others don't make the same mistake her family did by going there. She started a website called www.boycottdubai.com
17 posted on 12/28/2007 9:11:48 PM PST by ChesireKat (-ChesHireKat)
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To: ConservativeMind
Why do people go to places that don’t have decent legal protection for this type of stuff?

Please, ConservativeMind, if you don't mind, I'd like to rephrase your question:

Why do people go to places that don’t have decent legal protection for this type of stuff?

18 posted on 12/28/2007 9:14:14 PM PST by samtheman (Fred Thompson '08)
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To: ChesireKat

My wifes brother just got back from 7 years there for Oxy petro. women must enter a different door to their house then men.

If you go to a party and someone wants your wife, she never gets to the party.

Truly 7th century and we have to deal with it.


19 posted on 12/28/2007 9:16:43 PM PST by edcoil (Reality doesn't say much - doesn't need too)
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To: Calpernia

info about the camel jockey slaves from the U.S. State dept website:

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46606.htm
excerpt—
“The trafficking and exploitation of South Asian and African children as camel jockeys has burgeoned in the Gulf states, which, with the discovery of oil and the associated surge in wealth, transformed camel racing from a traditional Bedouin sports pastime to a multi-million dollar activity. Today, thousands of children, some as young as two years of age, are trafficked from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and countries in East Africa, and sold into slavery to serve as camel jockeys.

These children live in an oppressive environment and endure harsh living conditions. They work long hours in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit, live in unsanitary conditions, receive little food, and are deprived of sleep so that they do not gain weight and increase the load on the camels they race. They are trained and kept under the watchful eyes of handlers, who employ abusive control tactics, including threats and beatings. Some are reportedly abused sexually. Many have been seriously injured and some have been trampled to death by the camels. Those who survive the harsh conditions are disposed of once they reach their teenage years. Having gained no productive skills or education, scarred with physical and psychological trauma that can last a lifetime, these children face dim prospects. They often end up leading destitute lives. Trafficked child camel jockeys are robbed of their childhoods—and of their future.”


20 posted on 12/28/2007 9:23:50 PM PST by biscuit jane
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