Emirates Ruler's Brother Guilty of Assaulting Man in Bar

A Swiss court has convicted a brother of the United Arab Emirates' ruler of assaulting an American man with his belt in a luxury hotel bar in Geneva.

Sheik Falah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was found guilty of inflicting "bodily harm with the use of a dangerous object" and ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (£5,000), according to the judgment.

If he fails to pay, it will be converted into a 100-day prison term. In addition, the sheik faces a suspended penalty of 540,000 Swiss francs, payable in the event of another infraction in Switzerland during the next three years, and costs.

The court found the sheik hit Silvano Orsi, from New York, repeatedly with a steel-buckled belt after Orsi declined a bottle of champagne in August 2003. The sheikh, a brother of Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was appointed president of the UAE in 2004 after the death of their father, maintains he is innocent.

His lawyer, Marco Crisante, said he will probably appeal. He claimed Orsi's legal complaint was full of lies meant to pressure the sheik for money.

Orsi, who also holds Italian citizenship, said the judgment was an "immense victory". "I battled for five long years for my rights," he said.

Orsi said that after he refused the champagne, the sheik, whom he had never met, came up behind him, jostled his glasses, sat in his lap and tried to kiss and fondle him. When Orsi protested, he was assaulted, he said.

Geneva authorities said the sheik told them he got into an argument with Orsi after hearing someone call him gay. The judgment said the sheikh "suddenly took out his belt and hit him several times with it in the face and on the head".

The three-judge court said it had taken into account testimonies from two former hotel employees.