Princess Latifa al Maktoum, the daughter of Dubai's ruler, has smuggled a series of videos out of captivity describing herself as being held 'hostage' by her father.
Princess Latifa al Maktoum, the daughter of Dubai's ruler, has smuggled a series of videos out of captivity describing herself as being held 'hostage' by her father.
A daughter of Dubai's powerful ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 only to be detained by commandos in a boat off India has re-emerged in new videos published Tuesday, saying she doesn't know if she's "going to survive this situation."
The videos, released by the BBC, showSheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum at a "jail villa," apparently located in the skyscraper-studded city-state in the United Arab Emirates. Her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also serves as the prime minister and vice president in the hereditarily ruled UAE.
Princess Latifa al Maktoum, the daughter of Dubai's ruler, has smuggled a series of videos out of captivity describing herself as being held 'hostage' by her father.
"I'm a hostage," the sheikha says in one video. "This villa has been converted into jail. "I can't even go outside to get any fresh air," she also said.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge talk with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at Royal Ascot on June 18, 2019. Photo / Getty
The BBC said Sheikha Latifa recorded the videos in a bathroom at the villa over months on a phone she secretly received about a year after her capture.
"I don't know when I'll be released and what the conditions will be like when I'm released," she says in a video. "Every day I am worried about my safety and my life."
Staged-managed photos taken in 2018 showed Latifa with the former Irish president and UN high commissioner for human rights Mary Robinson. Photo / UAE Minsitry of Foreign Affairs
The videos, part of an episode of BBC's "Panorama" investigative series being broadcast Tuesday, also include an interview with Mary Robinson, a former president of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Robinson appeared in photos with Latifa published by Emirati officials after the sheikha's return to Dubai in 2018.
Robinson told the BBC that she had been misled by Emirati authorities who told her Latifa was a troubled young woman safe in the care of her family.
"I was particularly tricked when the photographs went public," Robinson told the BBC. "That was a total surprise.... I was absolutely stunned."
Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum pictured December 2019. Photo / AP
The dramatic would-be sea escape and its aftermath intruded into the carefully controlled image maintained by the family of Sheikh Mohammed, who is believed to have several dozen children from multiple wives. Some of his sons and daughters figure prominently in local media and online, but others are rarely seen. Sheikha Latifa was widely known for her love of skydiving prior to 2018.
Sheikh Mohammed's family life again became a public matter in 2020. Then, a British judge ruled the sheikh had conducted a campaign of fear and intimidation against his estranged wife and ordered the abduction of two of his daughters, one of them Sheikha Latifa. The ruling came in a custody battle between Sheikh Mohammed and estranged wife Princess Haya, daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan.
Queen Elizabeth ll has a good relationship with Sheikh Mohammed. They are pictured at The Royal Windsor Horse Show on May 2016 in Windsor, England. Photo / Getty
Sheikh Mohammed is the founder of the successful Godolphin horse-racing stable and on friendly terms with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. In 2019, he received a trophy from the queen after one of his horses won a race at Royal Ascot.
The High Court in London last year published rulings relating to the legal battle between Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his former wife Princess Haya bint Al Hussain of Jordan.
