International concern for Princess Latifa of …

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch urged the UN to address the case of Princess Latifa, daughter of the Emir of Dubai, who denounced her hostage-taking and fearing for her life in videos released this week by UK media. The 35-year-old Princess, daughter of Mohammed bin Rached al-Maktoum, Head of the Emirate of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, tried unsuccessfully to escape by boat from this Persian Gulf city-state.

“We just hope the UN will call fully and clearly for his release and not just proof of life,” said Hiba Zayadin, Gulf researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“We don’t know what the situation of Princess Latifa is at the moment. The videos recently broadcast by the BBC did not make it possible to verify when and where they were published, ”he added.

A cry for help

The parents of the princess, who say not having heard from him for several months, they released these videos in which Latifa claims to be locked in a “mansion turned prison”.

This week, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said who will question the UAE about the princess. And a day later the British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab asked proof that Princess Latifa is alive, in statements to Sky News in which he refers to a “very difficult case”.

Amnesty International called on “the international community to heed Sheikha Latifa’s requests for help” and welcomed the UN pledge to “raise the issue with the authorities”.

“The content of the videos recorded by Princess Latifa is terrifying and we are extremely concerned for her safety,” said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director of Amnesty Middle East and North Africa.

The case

In March 2020, the UK court ruled that the emir of Dubai ordered the kidnapping of two of his daughters, Latifa and Shamsa. At just 18 years old, the latter tried to flee in 2000 while on vacation in England.

According to Latifa’s account, Shamsa was found after two months, she was “drugged”, brought back to Dubai and “locked up”.

Human rights organizations regularly accuse the United Arab Emirates, a state close to Western countries, of violating human rights and of suppressing critical voices.