Ahmed Al Menhali was detained in Avon last week after a female clerk at a local hotel called 911 to report what she had described as a man pleading allegiance to the terrorist organisation.
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He was trying to check into Fairfield Inn and Suites on June 29 when a receptionist notified her sister about a man “in full head dress with multiple disposable phones pledged his allegiance to ISIS” before two calls were made to police, CNN reported.
Cleveland’s WEWS-TV posted police camera video footage of al-Menhali’s arrest, which involved several officers with rifles aggressively taking down a visibly distraught man.
The National reported that when police spoke to the hotel clerk, they found he had not made any statements related to Daesh.
“They were brutal with me”, he told the paper. “The police responded as if there were weapons”.
The hotel clerk, whose name has not been released, could face criminal charges for making the false accusations, according to local news station ABC Newsnet 5.
After the police realized Al Mehnali wasn’t a real threat, he was allowed to stand up.
It came after an Emirati man wearing the country’s flowing white robe, called a kandura, a headscarf and a headband was mistaken for a member of ISIS while traveling in the United States.
Following the incident, the UAE has warned its citizens to avoid wearing traditional garments when travelling overseas, for their own safety.
He added: “I think for us it’s a good educational tool moving forward and will hopefully strengthen our relationship”.
Al Menhali told Khaleej Times in a phone interview that although he met with the OH town mayor of Avon and the police chief, it doesn’t mean their apologies have been accepted.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, the Avon Police Department repeatedly referred to Al-Menhali’s traditional attire in explaining their arrest.
Washington, Abu Dhabi – Mayor of Avon city in the U.S. State of Ohio Brian Jensen and police chief Richard Bosley apologized to Emirati citizen Ahmed al-Menhali during a meeting held following his discharge from the hospital and after his wrongful arrest.
Goldrich “apologised” for the incident, pledging to seek clarifications from authorities in the state of Ohio.
The foreign ministry said it expressed “discontent over the abusive treatment by the OH police of a UAE citizen” as well as the posting of a video showing his arrest, which contained “defamation of the UAE national”. “You should not have been put in that situation”.
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According to the Independent, Mr. Menhali told The Independent, “Please tell Donald Trump to stop hating Mexicans and Muslims”.
