Dubai has new Police Chief

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has issued a decree on Saturday appointing a new Commander in Chief of Dubai Police to succeed General Dhahi Khalfan; who is widely known for his hostility to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Dubai Police tweeted on Saturday saying that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum has issued a decree appointing Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina as Commander of Dubai Police.

Khalfan who served as Dubai’s Commander in Chief for 33 years became known in the wake of the assassination of Mahmoud al Mabhouh; a leading member of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in January 2010 in a Dubai hotel.

After assuming responsibility for overseeing the investigation, Khalfan revealed the assassination’s details hours shortly after it took place. He released the images of 26 people involved in the assassination saying they were agents of an elite unit in the Israeli intelligence Service – Mossad – who had used forged foreign passports to enter Dubai and carry out the assassination. The incident caused a diplomatic crisis at the time between Israel and several countries notably Britain, Ireland, Australia and France.

Following the Arab Spring and the Muslim Brotherhood’s arrival into power in Egypt, Khalfan become active in an electronic media campaign against the Islamic organisation. He tweeted anti-Brotherhood slogans almost on daily basis.