HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- On the tape, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan appears to burn with rage.



Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, pictured here, allegedly tortured a business associate on videotape.



Believing he was cheated in a business deal, the member of the United Arab Emirates ruling family was trying to extract a confession from an Afghan grain dealer.



With a private security officer assisting, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan is seen stuffing sand in the Afghan's mouth. As the grain dealer pleads and whimpers, he is beaten with a nailed board, burned in the genitals with a cigarette lighter, shocked with a cattle prod, and led to believe he would be shot. Salt is poured on his wounds.



In the end, the victim can muster up only weak moans as an SUV is repeatedly driven over him.



The 45 minutes of torture appears on a nearly three-hour-long videotape shot in late 2004 in the desert outside Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf region. It was made at the direction of the sheikh himself. The tape has been viewed by CNN.



Now the tape has surfaced as a piece of evidence in a federal civil suit filed in Houston, Texas, against the sheikh by his former business partner, Bassam Nabulsi.



As media, U.S. governmental and human rights questions and concerns emerged, Abu Dhabi's government on Tuesday issued a statement saying it deplored the contents of the video and plans an immediate and comprehensive review of it.



Nabulsi, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen living in Houston, says he met Sheikh Issa when the royal came to Houston for medical care in 1994.   Watch portions of the tape and Nabulsi tell his story »



According to Nabulsi, the men became friends and business partners, and Sheikh Issa eventually recruited Nabulsi to move to Abu Dhabi to work for him.



"We were buddies," said Nabulsi, who met with CNN journalists in Houston. "He gave me his personal vow. He swore to look after my family in case something happened to me."



The sheikh, who holds no official government position, is the half-brother of the country's ruler.



In the lawsuit, Nabulsi says was disturbed by the sheikh's "increasingly bizarre behavior" after the November 2004 death of his father, UAE ruler Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan.



Nabulsi's lawsuit says that Sheikh Issa's father "kept tight control over Sheikh Issa" but after the father's death, he "apparently no longer felt constrained."



Nabulsi claims he confronted his business partner about the Afghan's treatment, telling him that to do such a thing he "must not be a God-fearing person."



Nabulsi says his boldness prompted the sheikh to turn on him.



Later, Nabulsi was arrested on drug charges. Security officers working for the sheikh ransacked his home and demanded the torture video, Nabulsi claimed.



By this point, the tape -- shot by Nabulsi's brother at the order of the sheikh -- had been smuggled out of the country. According to an affidavit, Nabulsi's brother worked for Sheikh Issa as a personal assistant.



In 2005, Nabulsi was arrested, jailed and ultimately convicted on drug charges. And, he said, he was tortured and humiliated by UAE police, who demanded he return the tape.



"It was a lot of humiliation," Nabulsi told CNN. "And I really don't like to talk about it."



Nabulsi was fined and deported.



Darryl Bristow, the sheikh's Houston attorney, argued in court papers that American courts have no jurisdiction over his client. In a statement to CNN, Bristow said Nabulsi is using the videotape of a third party, Nabulsi's brother, to influence the court over a business dispute.



"The public should know that the man behind the camera was Bassam Nabulsi's brother and that Bassam Nabulsi kept the video from the media while his lawyer was asking for money. What do you call that where you come from?" Bristow asked.



Nabulsi
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Bassam Nabulsi. allegedly tortured a business associate on videotape. United Arab Emirates Bassam Nabulsi. the half-brother of the country's ruler. Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan appears to burn with rage. Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan Afghan grain dealer. Bassam Nabulsi
question: Who is suing Sheikh Issa of Abu Dhabi?, answer: Bassam Nabulsi. | question: What did Bassam Nabulsi's tape show?, answer: allegedly tortured a business associate on videotape. | question: Where is Sheikh Issa from?, answer: United Arab Emirates | question: Who was tortured in jail?, answer: Bassam Nabulsi. | question: who is Sheikh Issa of Abu Dhabi?, answer: the half-brother of the country's ruler. | question: What does Bassam Nabulsi's tape show?, answer: Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan appears to burn with rage. | question: who is sheikh?, answer: Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan | question: Who was tortured in jail?, answer: Afghan grain dealer. | question: Who is  suing?, answer: Bassam Nabulsi