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Qatari Emir’s brother accused of murder, sodomy and misconduct in new US lawsuit

Sunday 21/June/2020 - 02:25 PM

Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani, the brother of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim, is being accused of ordering his staff to murder US citizens on American soil, of sexual assault on a male prostitute and of killing his wife’s driver in Doha, according to a new lawsuit.

The 137-page federal civil lawsuit filed on Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained by Al Arabiya English, was filed by six plaintiffs in Massachusetts following an earlier lawsuit by two of the Americans last August in Florida.

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The six plaintiffs are all former staffers of Sheikh Khalid, 33, who worked for him in various roles either through his car racing team or directly with him as a nurse.

Terry Hope, one of the plaintiffs who worked for Sheikh Khalid’s Al Anabi Racing team, made several accusations including the Qatari’s request he commit murder on his behalf.

Hope said he witnessed Sheikh Khalid beat his wife’s chauffeur to death with the assistance of the Emiri Guard in an al-Thani royal family desert camp compound outside of Doha.

“This is what happens when you cross me. This is my world … Everyone has their breaking point. I’ll find yours … If you ever want to get into my inner circle, you will have to show your loyalty,” Hope accused Sheikh Khalid of saying.

Hope also alleged that he was forced to watch Sheikh Khalid, Jason Sharpe who is one of the Qatari Sheikh’s employees, and another friend Sheikh Khalid’s “commit an act of sodomy against a male prostitute with a billiard stick.”

Being monitored by elder brother Sheikh Tamim

Hope also accused Sheikh Khalid of soliciting his knowledge of software to obtain access to files belonging to his brother, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and other members of Bahrain and the UAE’s royal families.

“Defendant Khalid then attempted to use Plaintiff Hope’s knowledge of software to obtain access to the files of Defendant Khalid’s brother, who is now the Emir of Qatar but was the Deputy Emir of Qatar at the time, royal family members of Dubai and Bahrain, and private citizens of Dubai and Bahrain. Plaintiff Hope refused,” the complaint in the lawsuit read.

The lawsuit also alleged that Sheikh Khalid had been paranoid he was being monitored by his brother, Emir Sheikh Tamim, and had sought Hope’s help to debug his personal home in 2010 before his elder sibling had been appointed ruler.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is pictured during his meeting with the French president in the Qatari capital Doha on December 7, 2017. (File photo)

“In March 2010, Defendant Khalid requested that Plaintiff Hope return to Qatar, who had just returned to the United States after the conclusion of the Qatar racing season, to assist Defendant Khalid with debugging his personal residence; Defendant Khalid believed his brother, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Deputy Emir of Qatar at the time, was watching him or listening to his conversations,” read the complaint.

Initially filed by two of the plaintiffs – security guard Mathew Pittard and medic Mathew Allende – last July 23 in a US federal court in Florida, the same lawsuit against Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani also alleges he attempted to enlist an American security staffer to murder two people and ordered him to hold another American captive.

The lawsuit also includes complaints from a second plaintiff who says he was held captive in a compound and threatened with a gun while working as a medic for the Sheikh.

The second plaintiff Allende added that he needed surgery for the injuries he received after being forced to scale a 5.4-meter perimeter wall to escape. The plaintiff escaped after Sheikh Khalid refused him a day off in approximately three weeks and then threatened him with a gun.

In the new lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Jason Mollenbrink alleged that Sheikh Khalid exposed his penis and demanded that he show him his. Mollenbrink was employed as a licensed, registered nurse by Sheikh Khalid from approximately May 2018 to March 2019.

All six plaintiffs, who are represented by attorney Rebecca Castaneda, are seeking damages from Sheikh Khalid and are demanding a jury trial on all causes of action in their lawsuit.

“All defendants were successfully served with the lawsuit on June 17 and June 18. They now have 21 days to file an answer to the suit. I look forward to presenting the case in court,” Castaneda told Al Arabiya English.