The pressure is mounting on the disappearance of a princess, daughter of the emir: Dubai gives its version

Dubai began to feel pressure to explain the fate of Latifa, the missing daughter of the emir, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. On Friday morning, the United Nations ordered “to give proof of the life” of the princess, who has disappeared after being kidnapped from a yacht by Indian special forces, when she fled the emirate in 2015. A few hours later, a brief diplomatic statement from the emirate claims that “she is being looked after by her families, by professionals” and at one point, “she could resume public life “.

The UAE Embassy in London responded with the following statement from the family: “In response to media reports on Sheikha Latifa, we would like to thank those who have expressed concern for her well-being, despite the coverage that certainly does not reflect the real position, ”they argued.

“His family confirmed that His Highness was being cared for at home, supported by his family and health professionals.“She continues to improve and we hope she returns to public life when the time comes.” they ended, without further details.

In the videos in Sky News and in the BBC First published this week, Princess Latifa accused her father of having taken her “hostage” in Dubai, following attempts to flee from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With a pale image and from the bathroom of a guarded royal villa in Dubai, she asked the world for help. “I am a hostage and this village has become a prison,” Latifa denounced.

His words generated an uncomfortable diplomatic crisis between Britain and Dubai, one of its main arms buyers and with the Emir as a big investor, with his racehorses, his palaces, his lands and a big personal friend of the queen. But there are more videos of Latifa, in the hands of friends campaigning for her freedom, which could appear in the coming days.

THE UN INTERVENES

From Geneva, the UN Commission on Human Rights explained on Friday that it had “expressed concerns over the worrying emergency that has emerged this week,” said Liz Throsell, spokesperson. word of the Commission.

<< We need information and clarifications on the current situation of Sheika LatifaGiven our grave concerns about Sheika Latifa, we demand a government response as a priority. We also asked for proof of life, “said the spokesperson, after specifying that they will follow” the situation closely. The high commissioner is former Chilean President Michele Bachelet.

PROOF OF LIFE AND FREEDOM

The declaration of the Dubai Embassy in London is not enough. “People want to see that Princess Latifa is very much alive, very much alive. “ Foreign Minister Dominique Raab said demanding “proof of life”, which the Emir did not provide. But he felt that the sanctions or the inhibition of the assets of the emir are not adopted lightly. “There is a strict legal framework,” he explained.

Tiina Jauhiainen, her Finnish teacher in Dubai, said it was time for “world leaders to speak up. We hope to find out what happened to Latifa and guarantee her freedom. The queen is a close friend of the sheikh. She must be aware of what is going on with her daughter and we welcome her intervention.People have to talk. The United Nations must speak out because this is clearly a violation of human rights. It cannot go on forever. Something must be done to free Latifa ”, he insisted from Finland. Then she denounced that the Emirati services had “tapped” the phone with which she spoke with the princess.

A HOTEL ON THE ISLAND

According to the evidence, Princess Latifa has been in detention since 2018. In her statements she said that She was drugged, tortured and isolated as a hostage No one has heard of her in 9 months When a cell phone that his friends had managed to bring into the house, gave no more news, they believe they have discovered it. He lives in a royal villa, on a luxurious artificial island where Diego Maradona lived, very close to the places of tourist walk in Dubai.

This is not the first time that the powerful emir has committed human rights violations in Britain. In 2011, her other daughter, Shamsa, disappeared from the streets of Cambridge.. He had fled the Emir’s mansion in Sussex and nothing of his life was ever heard. The police never knew where he was.

Sheikha Shamsa al Maktoum fled at age 19 during the family’s annual vacation in the UK. He reportedly went to an immigration lawyer in London for advice on how to stay in Britain. He then said that it was his father who had sent “four Arabs to catch me, they were carrying arms and threatening me”.

Sheikh Mohammed told a court that “Shamsa was vulnerable and was just a child.” She felt “overwhelming relief” when they found her. But she has not been seen in public since.

With his six wives and at least 25 children, the emir has received complaints from three wives who cannot see their children because of his decision or enter Dubai.

THE FEAR OF PRINCESS HAYA

The latest scandal came when Haya, the Jordanian princess and sister of King Abdullah, the last wife of the Emir of Dubai, arrived in London in 2019. She fled in a private plane to Dubai with her two children for fear of facing the same fate as Latifa.

Princess Haya, UN humanitarian ambassador, Olympic equestrian champion and personal friend of the British sovereign, convinced Mary Robinson, former chairperson of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and former president of Ireland, to surrender in Dubai to see the status of Latifa.

Robinson had lunch with her but didn’t ask about her trauma. Princess Haya had explained that Latifa “was bipolar”. In a documentary in the BBC, Robinson admitted that “she was deceived by Princess Haya and that she was also deceived”.

Princess Haya is in exile in London, in a mansion bought by the Emir in the gardens of Kensington Palace. Live in fear of being kidnapped, after a gun appeared twice on his pillow and his safety was infiltrated. He was granted custody of his two children by decision of the British courts. The emir wanted to marry them “by arrangement” in Dubai.

The UN Commission on Human Rights has asked for proof that Latifa is alive. The statement from the Embassy in London was the answer. Princess Latifa is the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, billionaire ruler of Dubai Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, lord and owner of the emirate.

THE CRISIS CONTINUES

The embassy’s statement is not enough to demonstrate the status of Latifa al Maktoum. Everyone wants to see their images, their passport in hand and the freedom to move wherever they want, at 35 years old.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has joined other world leaders in asking for information on his well-being.

The Sheikh has always maintained that Latifa was tricked by criminals to escape, they wanted the money and that bringing her back to Dubai was a rescue mission.

What happened to Latifa was examined in a battle in the High Court between the Sheikh and his now ex-wife, Princess Haya bint al Hussein. In findings released in March 2020, Sir Andrew McFarlane, who is chairing the case, admitted the Sheikh was “responsible for the kidnapping and detention of Latifa.” The British Chief Justice also accepted the Princess’s account that she had been dbegged, beaten and detained after a previous escape in 2002.

Princess Haya’s eyewitness testimony was also accepted. He told the court that he visited Latifa in December 2018 and found that “she was held against her will. She was locked in a house, guarded from the outside and the inside ”.

Princess Haya fled to the UK in 2019 with her children after saying she was suspicious of what happened to Shamsa and Latifa. The Sheikh and the Emir of Dubai rejected the sentence, accusing it of bias.

“As head of government, I was unable to participate in the court’s investigative process. This resulted in the publication of a “quick determination” judgment which inevitably only tells one side of the story», Assured the emir, who did not testify at the trial.