Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani appears in a video message (Picture: Al-Jazeera)

A Qatari royal has apparently been released after appearing in a video claiming he was being held ‘against his will’ in the UAE.

In a clip broadcast on Sunday on Qatari media, including Al Jazeera, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani said he was being held against his will after going to Abu Dhabi as a guest.

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‘I am now in Abu Dhabi as a guest of Sheikh Mohammed, but actually not in the position of a guest but rather as a detainee,’ Sheikh Abdullah said, apparently referring to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan.

‘I just want to inform you that if anything happens to me, don’t blame Qatar.’

#عاجل بالفيديو | الشيخ عبدالله بن علي آل ثاني يقول إنه محتجز في #أبو_ظبي بعد استضافة الشيخ محمد بن زايد له ويقول إن دولة #قطر بريئة من أي مكروه قد يحدث له pic.twitter.com/6Gc7XOZT75 — الجزيرة مباشر (@ajmubasher) January 14, 2018

A UAE Foreign Ministry official said Sheikh Abdullah had come to Abu Dhabi at his own request as a guest after the Qatari government placed restrictions on him.

The official said in a statement, carried by the UAE state news agency WAM: ‘He is free to move to move about and has expressed his desire to leave the state, all procedures were facilitated for him without any obstruction.’

Emirati Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

He added that Sheikh Abdullah’s claims he was being held against his will were ‘lies’, and blamed Qatar.

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Qatar said the lack of contacts with Abu Dhabi made it difficult to establish for certain what had happened with Sheikh Abdullah, but that it was monitoring the situation.

‘In principle, the state of Qatar supports maintaining the legal rights of any individual and his family has the right to pursue all legal means to protect his rights,’ the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.