Emirati royal family member pleads guilty to child neglect, gets two-year community order
Photo: Collected
Al Nahyan is the influential royal family of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Mahra Al Nahyan, a member of this family, has come into the spotlight over a drug-related incident in the United Kingdom.
It has been learnt from an NDTV report that Mahra Al Nahyan, 32, was found lying unconscious on a street in west London in June this year after taking cocaine. Another male companion was lying unconscious right beside her.
Very close to them, beside the busy road, a three-year-old child was playing alone, barefoot without shoes. Thinking of the safety risk, local passers-by came forward, took the child to a safe place and informed the police.
Emergency service and police members who later reached the spot recovered various drug-taking paraphernalia from Mahra, but did not find any illegal narcotics. After regaining consciousness, in a disoriented state she said to the police and the people present, ‘This is not a slaughterhouse, why are you so worried? Why are you thinking so much?’
It has been learnt from court documents that Mahra Al Nahyan became connected with Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, the ‘Al Nahyans’, through marriage. The Al Nahyan family, the rulers of Abu Dhabi among the seven emirates (provinces) of the United Arab Emirates, is known as one of the richest dynasties in the world. According to information from the New York Post, the family’s total assets amount to about 30 billion or more (an estimated 30,000 crore dollars). Court sources say that as a member of the royal family, Mahra receives an allowance of eight thousand euros or the equivalent every month.
Mahra Al Nahyan has pleaded guilty in court to child neglect over the incident. Her lawyer, Stephen Vullo, said she is deeply remorseful for her conduct and wants to overcome her addiction and get better.
Since the incident, she has been undergoing treatment for freedom from drug addiction at The Priory Clinic at Woking in Surrey, United Kingdom. Her three-month rehabilitation programme is due to end this month. After that, she has planned to rent a house near the clinic and continue treatment as a day patient.
For the offence of neglect in child protection, the court has ordered her to serve a two-year community order (a kind of punitive measure that is an alternative to imprisonment) and to complete a mandatory rehabilitation process. She has also been fined eight thousand US dollars.
