Dubai's ruler accused of slavery
BBC News ^ | 09/14/2006
news.bbc.co.uk
Dubai's ruler has been accused of enslaving thousands of young children for camel races in a class-action lawsuit filed in the US. The action claims Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, his brother Hamdam and 500 others are responsible for abducting and trafficking the children.
It was filed on behalf of six unidentified parents and thousands of unnamed children.
There has been no comment on the action from the accused.
The children were said to be from Bangladesh, Sudan and southern Asia.
Once in Dubai, it is claimed that the children - some of them as young as two - were kept in poor conditions, starved (so as to keep their weight down), abused and forced to take part in a dangerous sport.
The case was filed in Miami where Sheikh Mohammed and his brother, Sheikh Hamdam bin Rashid al-Maktoum, have property.
The two, along with the other 500 defendants who the suit says are as yet unknown, face nine counts.
They include engaging in slavery, conspiring to engage in slavery, engaging in or facilitating child labour, battery, assault, infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death.
The use of child camel jockeys was banned in Dubai 13 years ago. |
