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Dubai Royal Family Faces Lawsuit In Miami Over Abuse Of 30,000 Bangladeshi, Pakistani Boys

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nkdat...@bigmailbox.net

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Sep 14, 2006, 8:20:48 PM9/14/06
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[The lawsuit claimed the boys were taken largely from Bangladesh and
Pakistan, held at desert camps in the UAE and other Persian Gulf
nations, and forced to work. It claimed some boys were sexually abused,
denied adequate food and sleep, and injected with hormones to prevent
their growth]


http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-childjockeys14sep14,1,5297319.story


Associated Press
September 14, 2006


Arab Sheikhs Enslaved Child Jockeys, Suit Says


More than 30,000 boys may have been forced to race camels by United
Arab Emirates rulers, parents charge.


MIAMI - Rulers of the United Arab Emirates were accused in a lawsuit
of enslaving tens of thousands of boys over three decades and forcing
them to work as jockeys in the popular sport of camel racing.


The lawsuit was filed last week by unnamed parents of boys suspected of
being abducted, sold and enslaved. They claim more than 30,000 boys may
have been victimized and are seeking class-action status.


The lawsuit alleges Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the crown
prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, the deputy
ruler, were the most active perpetrators.


The lawsuit was filed in Miami because the members of the royal family
maintained hundreds of horses at farms in Ocala. The suit seeks
unspecified damages.


Calls to the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Washington were not
answered, and it was not possible to leave a telephone message after
hours. A telephone message left at a Kentucky farm owned by the crown
prince was not returned.


John Andres Thornton, co-counsel for the children, said the crown
prince was served with the lawsuit Monday while buying horses in
Kentucky.


The lawsuit claimed the boys were taken largely from Bangladesh and
Pakistan, held at desert camps in the UAE and other Persian Gulf
nations, and forced to work. It claimed some boys were sexually abused,
denied adequate food and sleep, and injected with hormones to prevent
their growth.


Camel races are immensely popular in the Persian Gulf. The UAE banned
the use of children as jockeys - long favored because of their light
weight - in 1993, but young boys could still be seen riding in
televised races for years afterward.

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