‘No legal case’ to try sheikh over alleged sex attack
A sheikh and Emirati cabinet minister will not be prosecuted for the alleged sexual assault and torture of a Hay Festival curator, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on Thursday.
Caitlin McNamara, 32, had claimed Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, 69, had kissed and groped her when she went to visit him at his private island villa in February to discuss Hay’s first literary festival in Abu Dhabi.
Her lawyers had hoped the CPS would be able to prosecute the Gulf royal under the concept of “universal jurisdiction”, in which serious offences can be tried despite them not having taken place in the UK.
But in a statement the CPS said the legal criteria had not been met for charges to be brought against the sheikh, the United Arab Emirates’ tolerance minister. The sheikh has denied the allegations.
Jenny Hopkins, the head of the CPS’s special crime and counter terrorism division, said: “Sexual offences can have a devastating and lasting impact on victims, and the CPS will always prosecute cases where our legal test is met.
“The CPS has carefully reviewed evidence passed to us by the Metropolitan Police after a British woman reported being sexually assaulted earlier this year while working abroad. Possible charges of sexual assault and torture were considered.
“However, after thorough consideration, we have concluded that the evidence does not support a prosecution and will not be taking the case any further. We have explained our reasoning in detail and offered to meet the complainant to clarify any points.
“I understand this is not the outcome the complainant wanted, but the CPS must ensure that the law is properly applied, and make fair, objective and independent decisions in every case.”
They concluded sexual offence charges could not be brought because the alleged crimes took place abroad and the complainant was not under 18.
A spokesman said: “As a general rule, English courts only have jurisdiction over criminal offences which occur in England and Wales. There are some exceptions but they do not apply in this case.”
Baroness Kennedy, QC, who has helped Ms McNamara with her case, had hoped a torture prosecution could be used by the CPS as a mechanism to bring the sheikh to trial.
Torture is one of the few offences where the usual rules regarding jurisdiction do not apply.
Under the Criminal Justice Act, the CPS would have had to prove the person said to have committed an offence was a public official who intentionally inflicted severe pain or suffering during the course of their official duties.
Ms McNamara had been in Abu Dhabi in February for Hay’s inaugural literary festival when she was summoned to the sheikh’s private island. She has said she was meeting the sheikh to discuss the upcoming festival but instead endured a “four hour ordeal”.
While CPS lawyers accepted the sheikh is a public official and his alleged behaviour would have caused “severe pain or suffering”, the legal test of whether the alleged offences took place during the performance of his official duties was not met.
A spokesman said: “In reaching that conclusion we took into account the complainant’s belief that she was attending a meeting about work when she agreed to meet with the suspect. However, her understanding of the nature of the meeting is not sufficient by itself to prove that the suspect was purporting to act in the performance of his official duties.”
Ms McNamara waived her legal right to anonymity as an alleged victim of a sexual assault because she felt she had “nothing to lose”.
She said she wanted to “highlight the effect of powerful men like him doing things like that and thinking they can get away with it”.
Hay Festival organisers said they will sever all links with the UAE while Sheikh Nahyan remains in post.
