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The above message is part of a videotape of Latifa, Princess of Dubai, a few days before trying to flee the city, which is part of the United Arab Emirates (United Arab Emirates) at Middle East. She is one of 30 children of the leader of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, one of the richest and most powerful political figures in the world.
"Very soon, I will flee somewhere, and I'm not sure it will work, but I'm 99% optimistic." Latifa said in the video, leaked by his friends if the plan of Evacuation did not work. The testimony was like a request for help in the future.
In February of this year, the recording was posted on YouTube, indicating that something could have happened to the princess.
The story of Latifa was told by a new BBC documentary, Escape from Dubai: The Mystery of the Missing Princess, aired Dec. 6. In this text, BBC News Brazil tells the story of the princess.
"It's not like that was described in the media," said Latifa in the video, "especially if you're a woman.
Princess Latifa's life in a" cage
As the daughter of Sheikh Maktoum, Latifa lived in luxury. "She lived with her mother and two sisters in a private house which, from the outside, looked like a palace. . There were pools, mbadage rooms, probably a hundred employees, "says Tiina Jauhiainen, coach of Latifa's capoeira, her trusted friend
" For me, it seemed like Latifa had everything what a girl could dream of having, "Tiina told the BBC." I lived in a palace, I had a lot of money, there was nothing missing , it was the first impression, it took me some time before I realized the reality of his life. "
The UAE stand as one of the most for the women of the Middle East, where they can enjoy the liberties and luxury of the West.But, like Saudi Arabia, the country is also governed by sharia, Islamic law.
" Women must obey their husbands, men can beat their wives and children. This is in UAE legislation; thus, if a woman is considered too wild and uncontrolled by the family, she may decide to punish herself and punish her for not behaving in this way, "said Rhothna Begum of Human Rights Watch.
In 2002, at the age of 16, Latifa tried to escape for the first time, but he was captured at the border and brought back to Dubai. she was severely punished for her escape.
"They put me in jail and tortured me. Basically, one guy held me by the hand, the other beat me. "After the torture sessions, I could not even walk.
Latifa then says that she was confined alone in a room Dark, ignorant of day and night, she was imprisoned for 3 years and 4 months and was not released until 19.
Latifa came out of this experience completely different, according to the video. He stopped trusting people and started spending more time with animals – some of those moments are recorded in his profile on Instagram.
Free but not allowed to leave Dubai, the princess was allowed to engage At the age of 26, he completed his studies and started sports training, and in addition to capoeira lessons with Tiina, he took skydiving lessons and joined the community. local paratroopers.
"She & # 39; said that skydiving gave him a sense of freedom. She needed something to distract herself from her life, "says Tiina.
People who lived with Latifa told the BBC that the princess was calm, simple and that she never spoke of her family
Despite this, the photos of Latifa jumping from a parachute were finally broadcast in local media, conveying the image that Dubai wanted to convey: that of pleasure and freedom for women.
It's a "farce", said Latifa in the video. "I can not drive, I can not travel, I have not gone (to Dubai) since 2000, they did not leave. I asked to study abroad and they refused me, "he said." My father has this image of being a modern man, "he said. is a lie, it's just marketing. "
Sheikh Maktoum cultivates the image of modern man
Sheikh Rashid al Maktoum cares of his image. Patrick Nixon, British ambbadador to the region, called the Sheikh "charismatic, dynamic, with a certain charm, but very determined". "He's a very public character who appears all the time in the press, he knows what he wants, how to get and who can help," Nixon told the BBC.
Under his command, Dubai has changed dramatically: from a barren desert city to one of the world's most glamorous metropolises, lined with towering skyscrapers and luxurious artificial islands. It's "Las Vegas Middle East," "Hedonist," "with a bit of everything," said Rhothna Begum of Human Rights Watch.
In his private life, Maktoum is the one of the most important horse breeders in the world. Because of this pbadion, the sheikh often travels to England to attend the famous Ascot races, where he owns a $ 95 million mansion – the Sheikh is by far the largest private owner in the UK. During some of these visits, Maktoum comes to fraternize with British royalty.
"Sheikh is an international brand," said English journalist Sean O 'Driscoll. "But in Dubai, the control is complete, you can not write anything negative about Dubai."
An example of the repressive force of the Dubai regime is what happened to one of Latifa's sisters, Princess Shamsa, in 2000.
That year, Maktoum decided to spend the next year. was in his mansion in England with a part of the family – even Shamsa, 18 years old.
The entourage was accompanied by several security guards and all the trips were made by private plane. "Shamsa hated her, she complained about her gold cage," said Stuart Millar, a reporter for the British newspaper The Guardian.
Tired of living imprisoned in the luxury of the family, without having "the freedoms of the civilized world", according to Latifa, Shamsa has run away.
She managed to stay hidden for weeks, but was eventually spotted by her father's security guards a few miles from Cambridge. "She was taken in a car and shouted, then she was taken in a helicopter in France and from France to Dubai," said Millar, who covered the case.
The operation had the mark of a kidnapping, a crime in the United Kingdom. The Cambridge police opened an investigation but could not proceed. The investigator in charge of the case tried to travel to Dubai to talk to Shamsa, but he refused his application for membership in the UAE – they never told him why.
The United States is a strategic ally of the United Kingdom, which has hindered the continuity of the case. "You have this key and a fundamental ally in the Gulf, and he (Maktoum) is a member of royalty, a friend of our kingship," said Millar.
"It's one of the weirdest stories I've worked in. No kidnapping charges in the UK have made it happen of an investigation, "said Millar.
Shamsa is doped and imprisoned in Dubai, accuses Latifa
It is not known what happened to Shamsa after returning to Dubai. In the video, Latifa said that her sister had been drugged and imprisoned in a palace room.
"She was put in this building, Zabell Palace, and she was imprisoned for eight years, and then I was allowed to visit her, she was in a very, very, very bad state." She did not open her eyes. People had to give a hand to Shamsa so that she could enter. They gave her food and a bunch of pills, which made her look like a zombie, "said Latifa.
" I've always been surrounded by nurses who slept with her and noted everything I did or said, "she continued.
It was after the escape of the sister that Latifa decided to escape. But she was arrested and , according to her information, arrested and tortured.It is impossible to verify if this actually happened.But Sima Watling of AI claims that some aspects of the description of what happened to her seem familiar and plausible
Human rights organizations have been able to document a number of torture cases by beating in United Arab Emirates prisons and in solitary confinement.
Latifa planned another escape for February 2018
After ten years of the first attempt e escape, Latifa considered to escape again. In the video, the princess says that she went to a cybercafe where she contacted Hervé Jaubert, a former French spy. They exchanged more than 200 emails.
Jaubert was a former naval intelligence officer. He had worked in Dubai, but had problems with the Emirates and had to flee by sea, swimming for much of the trip. "Since I had escaped from Dubai, she (Latifa) wanted to do the same thing," Jaubert told the BBC.
"I was moved, it was a personal request and I wanted to give it a chance."
The physical instructor of Latifa, Tiina, based in Finland, became the middleman. He went to the Philippines four times, where Jaubert was. There, they designed the plan that Tiina was to transmit to Latifa in Dubai.
First, they would travel by land to Muscat, the capital of Oman. Arrived at the coast, they took an inflatable boat to a yacht where Jaubert was waiting. While the United Arab Emirates controls the waters of the Arabian Sea, Jaubert's strategy was to embark for India, as he had done when he was at sea. Was escaped. The last step would be to fly to Florida, USA, where Latifa would seek political asylum.
The day chosen was February 24, 2018. Tiina told the BBC that Latifa was very nervous. "We met in a cafe, as we had done in the past.Latifa removed the abaya (the dress) and changed slightly in appearance."
They then got into the car – it was the first time Latifa had sat in front. "She wanted to do selfies all the time," Tiina remembered.
Latifa takes her selfie with her friend and former capoeira teacher Tiina before the first phase of the escape-attempt attempt to escape-bbc.jpg Arrived on the Oman coast towards the end of the afternoon, they took the boat and traveled almost 40 kilometers until reaching the Jaubert yacht In this document, they would travel 2,500 kilometers in India.
"I do not know how I feel about doing what I want, it will be amazing," said Latifa enthusiastically in the video she had recorded before she left.
But Latifa was not yet out of danger. Everyone knew that they were facing one of the most sophisticated police states in the world and that it would be difficult to avoid. "The situation was tense, you are basically at war in a hostile zone," Jaubert told the BBC.
Persecution in Indian Seas
International experts point out that the United Arab Emirates has invested millions of dollars in Israeli surveillance systems capable of converting a cell phone into a spy device. They can track people online by interfering with their phones and locating them. For that, he does not even need the phones to be connected.
Latifa had a bad omen to go to India, a country with which the UAE has strategic pacts. She knew that her father was looking for her and that India would not hesitate to help her, Latifa thought.
To try to prevent a persecution, the Princess of Dubai contacted several journalists. "But no one believed it, it was very sad," Tiina remembered.
Radatif Sterling, founder of the British NGO owned in Dubai, was also contacted by Latifa. The two men exchanged dozens of messages, but when Sterling asked for a photo of Latifa to prove her identity, the princess refused to send her, fearing that she would be intercepted.
Hervé Jaubert regrets not being able to take Latifa to a safe place – Photo: via BBC
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] In any case, Maktoum's security apparatus was already following in Latifa's footsteps. "We were followed by boats, then an Indian surveillance plane came in. I was worried because I knew they had identified us."
Only 50 kilometers from India, the yacht was intercepted and approached by armed persons. "They put a revolver on my face." "Close your eyes or I kill you," they shouted at me. "Someone handcuffed me, then gave me a violent blow, I ended up in a pool of blood," Jaubert said.
Tiina and Latifa hid in a bathroom. From there, the princess began sending messages to Radha Sterling, informing her that her boat was under attack. "Help me," he says on the phone. On the other side, Sterling heard sounds that sounded like shots.
Tiina and Latifa were found and taken to the bridge under the direction of a weapon. "I listened to Arabic and I realized that someone from the Emirates had approached us," recalled coach Tiina.
Latifa then shouted and asked for asylum. He said that he preferred to die here. "It was the last time I heard her talking, she was paralyzed," Tiina said. "I was ready to face the pirates, but never to collusion between India and the United Arab Emirates," Jaubert said.
Seven days later, the video Latifa recorded prior to the escape was posted on YouTube and sent to friends to report if something was happening to her.
Nobody knows what happened to Latifa
Tiina, her Finnish friend, and ex-French spy Jaubert were taken to Dubai. She was accused of having manipulated the princess and him, to have her kidnapped. They both say that the Dubai authorities have tried to force them to refute the denunciations of the rebel princess, but that is not the case.
Two weeks later, they were released. Already from Latifa there is no news.
"I feel very bad, because I should have taken her to a safe place, maybe she's not even alive," lamented Jaubert. .
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the Dubai government did not comment on the allegations made in the BBC documentary. However, they issued a statement saying that "Latifa and Shamsa are revered and valued by their families and that Latifa is now safe in Dubai".
Tiina hopes her friend "stays alive, has strength and does not give up". And remember Latifa's last words at the end of her revealing video. "If I do not get out of this, I hope at least that something good will come up."
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