Hungarian Muslims rally around hurt UAE chess official



Hungarian Muslims would like an Emirati chess official who was pummelled by thugs to see more of their country - but this time, the good side.

They have invited Saud Al Marzooqi to recuperate at a spa on the banks of Laka Balaton, and would also like him to take in the "beauty places" of two Hungarian villages.

On June 1 on the streets of the city of Szeged, Mr Al Marzooqi was run over by a car, kicked and beaten unconscious by three men whom he has described as police officers who thought he was an illegal immigrant.

Joos Adel, the director of the Hunguest Hotel Helios in Heviz, extended the offer of two weeks at a thermal spa to Mr Al Marzooqi.

In a letter sent to The National and addressed to Mr Al Marzooqi, Mr Adel said: "We have heard of the terrible and outrageous incident last Friday in Szeged. The Hungarian Islam community and the Hunguest Hotel Helios strongly condemn the physical attack against your person."

Mr Adel said Mr Al Marzooqi's therapy sessions at the spa would be conducted by professionals.

"We would like to take care of you personally," he noted.

Zoltan Bolek, the chairman of the Hungarian Islamic Community, said the offer was organised by businessmen and municipal officials.

"We want to help our brother and show him our country from its better side," he said.

"Mayors of Nagypáli and Nagyvisnyo in Zala county invite the chessmaster to their villages to know the beauty places and natural sites and the traditions of these villages."

Mr Bolek added: "The Hungarian Islamic Community deeply condemns the terrible abuse of the chess official from the UAE.

"We hope that the police and authorities take every necessary step to investigate this incident and to punish the abusers and provide justice in this case."

Mr Bolek described it as the organisation's "duty to help our suffering brother in his hard situation" as well as to "show that our country is a friendly place where the unacceptable and terrifying habits of the abuse are uncommon".

Mr Al Marzooqi, a member of the UAE Chess Federation, was visiting Hungary with Salim Abdulrahman, the Emirati junior chess master, and filed a complaint on June 4 after being taken to hospital with five broken ribs.

Prosecution officials have said his complaints were "well founded".

"The authorities have questioned two witnesses," Ferenc Szanka, a spokesman for the prosecutors' office leading the investigation, said yesterday.

Prosecutors have also turned to medical and technical experts, with the latter analysing close circuit footage of the incident, he said.

Csongrad county police declined to comment on the matter with a spokesman referring to the ongoing investigation. "Police will comment on the incident once the investigation was closed," spokesman Szabolcs Szenti said.

Rita Aida Attia of the Hungarian Islamic Community said she had tried to contact Mr Al Marzooqi but the hospital denied access.

"I called the hospital on Saturday but was told by staff that no calls are to be put through," she said.

* With additional reporting by Marton Eder in Budapest

AIDA RETURNS

Director: Carol Mansour

Starring: Aida Abboud, Carol Mansour

Rating: 3.5./5

Kill

Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat

Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal

Rating: 4.5/5

HOW TO WATCH

Facebook: TheNationalNews

Twitter: @thenationalnews

Instagram: @thenationalnews.com

TikTok: @thenationalnews  

In numbers

Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m

Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’  in Dubai is worth... $600m

China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn

The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn

Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn 

MATCH INFO

Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)

Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm

The biog

Name: Salvador Toriano Jr

Age: 59

From: Laguna, The Philippines

Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips

Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.

The specs

Engine: 2.3-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 299hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 420Nm at 2,750rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 12.4L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh157,395 (XLS); Dh199,395 (Limited)

DUBAI BLING: EPISODE 1

Creator: Netflix

Stars: Kris Fade, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Zeina Khoury

Rating: 2/5

Sanju

Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani

Rating: 3.5 stars

Sweet Tooth

Creator: Jim Mickle
Starring: Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, Stefania LaVie Owen
Rating: 2.5/5

THE SPECS

Jaguar F-Pace SVR

Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8​​​​​​​

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 542bhp​​​​​​​

Torque: 680Nm​​​​​​​

Price: Dh465,071

Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers

1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Sav
Started: 2021
Founder: Purvi Munot
Based: Dubai
Industry: FinTech
Funding: $750,000 as of March 2023
Investors: Angel investors


The UAE Today

The latest news and analysis from the Emirates

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      The UAE Today