UAE Tells Citizens To Avoid Wearing Traditional Clothes Abroad
MEP: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has warned citizens to avoid wearing the national outfit when travelling abroad.
The report came after an Emirati business man Ahmed al-Menhali, was wrestled to the ground in the US state of Ohio and held as Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) suspect last week, according to local media.
The man, who sustained injuries in the incident, told the National that the police were “brutal”.
Ohio broadcaster WEWS reported that police received a call from the sister of a hotel clerk who had said there was a man “in full headdress with multiple disposable phones pledging his allegiance to Daesh”.
“For citizens traveling outside the country, and in order to ensure their safety, we point out not to wear formal dress while traveling, especially in public places,” read a message published on the country’s Foreign Ministry Twitter account on Saturday.
A separate statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “urged women to abide by bans on face veils in parts of Europe,” as Reuters reported.
The Foreign Ministry said it had summoned US deputy ambassador Ethan Goldrich to protest the “abusive treatment by the Ohio police of a UAE citizen” and to deplore the filming of his arrest which it described as defamation.
“The UAE cares for the safety of its citizens and demands clarifications about the incident,” it said in a statement carried by WAM state news agency.
Goldrich “apologised” for the incident, pledging to seek clarifications from authorities in the state of Ohio, WAM said.
The mayor of Avon and the city’s police chief also apologised.
