The United Arab Emirates is telling citizens to avoid wearing national dress when traveling overseas after a Muslim man, who was wrongfully accused of supporting ISIS, was arrested in Avon last week.
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A hotel employee in Avon, Ohio, reportedly called police in fear that al-Menhali was pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Avon Police Chief Richard Bosley and Mayor Brian Jensen met with Menhali at the Cleveland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations..
According to Reuters, the foreign ministry said in a statement it had summoned USA deputy ambassador Ethan Goldrich to protest the “abusive treatment by the OH police of a UAE citizen”.
The video captured on one of the policeman’s body cameras, shows Mr Al-Menhali, dressed in traditional garments, being yelled at by authorities.
The U.A.E. Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned its citizens after the incident to avoid wearing traditional garb when traveling outside the country. A day later, the ministry also issued travel advice to Emirati citizens, urging them to respect bans of the full-face veil where they are in place.
On Monday, during an interview with NBC News, al-Menhali said that the meeting was a “good step to go forward”.
“They were brutal with me”, he told the paper.
The Avon Police Department and the town’s mayor have since apologized to the man and called the incident “very regrettable”.
Bryan Jensen, the Mayor of Avon, Ohio, said: “We certainly feel bad about the whole situation”. “There he is! On the ground, do it now!” an officer yelled. “I had several injuries and bled from the forceful nature of their arrest”, he was quoted as saying.
“I believe the clerk had little cultural training to where she called her family to make it something outrageous”, Shearson told CNN.
Bosley apologized to the incident saying the department never meant to mistreat Menhali the way they did. Al Menhali said that because he had a stroke in the past he had difficulty moving and complying to the police requests.
“You can put onlookers and our own officers in unnecessary danger if you report untrue information”, Bosley said. “Avon is proud to welcome visitors from the United Arab Emirates and other countries, who regularly come to Northern Ohio for tourism, business, medical care or education”, he said in a statement.
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The woman who made the false claim, believed to be a hotel clerk, could face criminal charges.
