AdvertisementAdvertisementWho is Mahrah Al Nahyan?
Mahrah Al Nahyan, 32, is associated with the Al Nahyan family, which rules Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to reports of the court hearing, Al Nahyan was found on June 13 in west London, slumped against metal railings and barefoot.
Footage recorded by a member of the public showed Al Nahyan sitting against the railings with her head bowed and her arms crossed.
Why are you so worried?” she said..Police searched Al Nahyan and found drug paraphernalia in her bags, but no illegal substances.
Mahrah Al Nahyan, 32, who is linked to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family through marriage, was found unconscious beside a man in west London on June 13, while a barefoot three-year-old played near moving traffic. A court heard she had taken cocaine in the preceding days. She admitted child neglect and was handed a two-year community order with rehabilitation, along with £6,114 in fines and costs
Mahrah Al Nahyan, a 32-year-old member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family through marriage, was found unconscious on a west London street in June, with a three-year-old child she was looking after was playing barefoot nearby.
The incident, which took place in June after she had taken cocaine in the preceding days, led to a child neglect charge and a court-ordered rehabilitation programme.
Nahyan, 32, who is connected to Abu Dhabi’s ruling Al Nahyan family through marriage, pleaded guilty to one count of child neglect at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. She was sentenced to a two-year community order with a rehabilitation requirement and ordered to pay £6,114 in fines and costs.
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Who is Mahrah Al Nahyan?
Mahrah Al Nahyan, 32, is associated with the Al Nahyan family, which rules Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The emirate is also the country's political centre and is home to its ruler, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who serves as the UAE’s president.
Her connection to the ruling family is through marriage. The family is among the wealthiest and most influential dynasties in the world. According to The New York Post, the family's estimated wealth is around $300 billion.
During the court proceedings, Al Nahyan was reported to receive a monthly allowance of approximately £8,000, according to NDTV. However, the proceedings centred on the circumstances in which the young child was left unattended, rather than Al Nahyan’s royal connections.
What happened on the London street?
According to reports of the court hearing, Al Nahyan was found on June 13 in west London, slumped against metal railings and barefoot. An unconscious man was lying nearby, while the three-year-old child was playing with a scooter close to a busy road.
Footage recorded by a member of the public showed Al Nahyan sitting against the railings with her head bowed and her arms crossed. Passers-by intervened after noticing that the child was unattended and close to moving traffic. They stayed with the toddler until the police arrived.
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Prosecutor Rio Pahlavanpour told the court that members of the public “noticed the child was unattended, without shoes on the street with a scooter and members of the public intervened as he seemed to be in close proximity to moving traffic”, according to The Standard.
The court heard that Al Nahyan remained unconscious for around 30 minutes. When she eventually regained consciousness, she questioned why people were so concerned about the situation.
“This is not a slaughterhouse, why do you care so much? Why are you so worried?” she said..
Police searched Al Nahyan and found drug paraphernalia in her bags, but no illegal substances.
What happened at the court hearing?
The court heard that Al Nahyan had taken cocaine in the days before she was found unconscious. However, her defence lawyer, Stephen Vullo KC, told the court that she had not taken the drug on the day of the incident and was exhausted after using it in the preceding days.
Vullo said she had demonstrated “significant remorse and resolve to overcome her addiction”.
He also told the court that she intended to finish a three-month treatment programme by the end of October. “The immediate future is she intends to complete all of the steps of a three-month programme which will come to an end at the end of this month,” Vullo said.
Explaining her plans after completing the programme, he said, “Her plan after that is to rent a property in the Guildford area and become a day patient there, where she will attend Narcotics Anonymous.”
Al Nahyan has been receiving treatment for drug addiction at the Priory clinic in Woking, Surrey, since the incident. NDTV also reported that she had entered the facility following the incident.
Vullo acknowledged the seriousness of what had happened and said, “She made a grave mistake that day, and she knows it.”
What sentence did the royal receive?
Judge Jeremy Johnson KC imposed a two-year community order with a rehabilitation requirement and ordered Al Nahyan to pay £6,114 in fines and costs.
The judge highlighted the risks the child faced while the adults were unconscious. According to The Standard, he said, “But for the intervention of strangers there was a serious risk they would be seriously injured or worse.”
He warned that the child could have wandered away, become lost or been harmed by a stranger. The child could also have become distressed on seeing the adults unconscious, he said.
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The judge said that leaving the toddler to play barefoot in the street while under the influence of drugs demonstrated “a recklessness and disregard for (the child's) safety.”
The sentence requires Al Nahyan to undergo rehabilitation as part of her community order. Her defence has said she intends to continue treatment and attend support meetings after completing the initial programme.
With input from agencies
