ABU DHABI // Emiratis were urged on Saturday night not to wear national dress when travelling overseas, for their own safety.
The advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation follows an incident at a hotel in Avon, Ohio, in which an Emirati businessman was forcibly detained by armed police after a hotel employee said he had pledged allegiance to ISIL.
A receptionist at the Fairfield Inn and Suites called police after she overheard Ahmed Al Menhali talking on his mobile phone in the lobby.
Mr Al Menhali fainted after he was released from the handcuffs and suffered suspected stroke.
On Saturday, he was being treated in a hospital in Cleveland.
“I always wear my traditional clothes during all my travels and never encountered such a thing” he said.
The police and officials have apologised for the incident.
nalremeithi@thenational.ae
