Falah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

His Highness Sheikh Falah bin Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan is a member of the Royal Ruling family in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. He is the half brother of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current President of the United Arab Emirates. He is also half brother of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the U.A.E Armed Forces.

Sports

Falah Al Nahyan is President of the UAE Ice Hockey Association Chairman of Emirates Polo Association, and chairman of the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club.

Lawsuit

Sheikh Falah Al Nahyan was the subject of a criminal lawsuit filed by an Italian-American in Geneva August 2003, claiming that the American had been assaulted in the posh La Reserve Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. The lawsuit claims that Sheikh Falah made homosexual advances and was refused by the American, and that Sheikh Falah then whipped the American with a leather belt, for turning down the Sheikh's gay advances, and a bottle of champagne offered by the Sheikh.

Sheikh Falah was convicted of intentional assault with a dangerous instrument in 2008, and ordered to pay 10,000 Swiss francs in fines, plus a suspended fine of 540,000 Swiss francs. This conviction was overturned on appeal. The appeal court acknowledged the facts of the incident, fully confirming the belt attack, but ruled that a leather belt was not a dangerous object when utilized to whip a person in the face. An appeal by the Italian-American victim against this bizarre conclusion was rejected by the Swiss federal appeals court.

The Italian-American victim has filed papers with the European Court of Human Rights in an attempt to overturn the Swiss court's appeal rejection.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8366387.stm

Further reading