Submitted by crinadmin on
[MIAMI, 31 July 2007]: A judge in Miami has dismissed a lawsuit alleging the ruler of Dubai enslaved thousands of children and forced them to work as camel jockeys, saying the suit fell outside the court’s jurisdiction. Judge Cecilia Altanoga ruled in favour of the defence, which argued that Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum did not have sufficient contacts in Florida to justify trying the suit in the southeastern US state. “We’ve said from the beginning that this case doesn’t belong in US courts and we’re gratified by Judge Altonaga’s careful legal analysis and ruling,” said Habib Al-Mulla, a spokesman for the Dubai ruler. The class-action lawsuit filed by parents of child jockeys alleged Sheikh Mohammad, his brother Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashed al-Maktoum and other unnamed defendants kidnapped and enslaved children, in some cases as young as two, to be used on the camel racing circuit. The plaintiffs argued the two defendants could be tried in Florida because corporations they own do business in that state, but the judge said this ran “contrary to well-settled principles of corporate law”. “Because the court concludes that it lacks personal jurisdiction over the identified defendants, it does not reach or address the merits of the other arguments raised,” Altanoga said in the ruling. The defence had argued the interests of former child jockeys are best served through an existing programme to send them back to their home countries and compensate them there. Sheikh Mohammad is also the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Hamdan serves as UAE finance and industry minister.