LONDON // A man claiming to be a Saudi prince was being questioned by Scotland Yard detectives last night after his aide was found beaten and strangled in his London hotel room.
The 33-year-old minor royal, who is said to be a grand-nephew of King Abdullah, was arrested on suspicion of murder after the body was found in the Landmark hotel in central London on Monday evening.
Staff at the five-star hotel, which has become a popular venue among showbusiness stars, called the police after a maid found a 32-year-old man in the third-floor suite with serious head injuries.
Ambulance and police rushed to the hotel but paramedics declared him dead at the scene.
The unnamed prince was not in the hotel at the time, but officers from the Metropolitan Police's homicide and serious crime command arrested him four hours later at an address in Westminster.
A source involved in the inquiry was quoted by The Times as saying that the suspect's link to the House of Saud was minor: "There is some sort of link to the Saudi royal family, but it is not believed he is a senior family member." It is estimated there are anywhere between 6,000 and 25,000 members of the Saudi royal family.
Detectives were yesterday seeking witnesses to reports of an angry row that had been heard in the hotel on the day of the killing.
Results from a post-mortem examination yesterday showed that the victim had suffered a severe beating to the head and had died as a result of "manual compression of the neck".
Police sources said the prince and his aide had been on a sightseeing tour in Europe for about a month and that both had been staying at the Landmark, where suites cost up to £2,400 (Dh14,000) a night.
Detectives have until this evening to question the prince, when they will either have to charge him or release him.
Questioning of the prince was initially delayed while Scotland Yard determined whether or not he was entitled to diplomatic immunity.
However, it was established that, as a minor royal who was in the UK as a tourist, he was not immune from prosecution under the 1961 Geneva Convention, which only extends protection to senior royals and diplomats.
It is understood that the Saudi Embassy in London has made no attempt to apply for immunity in this case.
"We have no information on the issue and the matter is currently with police," said an embassy spokesman.
A police spokesman said: "Officers believe they know the identity of the deceased, who is from Saudi Arabia, but await formal identification before releasing his name. Inquiries to trace his next of kin are under way."
Staff at the hotel, where Michelle Obama held a fund-raising dinner for her husband in 2007, were said to be shocked by the killing.
Francis Green, the hotel's general manager, said: "Police were informed immediately. We are co-operating fully with them and are therefore unable to comment further.
"This is an isolated incident and our thoughts are with the relatives of the deceased."
dsapsted@thenational.ae
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
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Group B
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Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
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Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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