The move followed the broadcast of a video alleging to show Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a half brother of Abu Dhabi's ruler and the United Arab Emirates' president, severely beating the Afghan and driving over his body.
A senior member of the ruling family has never been publicly detained before in Abu Dhabi. The footage threatens to complicate a nuclear deal between the Gulf state and the US.
Sheikh Issa's detention followed a review of the incident by the Abu Dhabi government's human rights office, which also recommended that if any other officials were found to be involved they should be suspended from their duties and detained pending the outcome of the investigation.
