The UN has asked the United Arab Emirates for evidence that the daughter of Prince Dubai is still alive, after the release of the secret messages she recorded this week, claiming that she is being held captive after the failure of a 2018 attempt to escape the emirate.
A spokeswoman for Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said on Friday that the UN “expressed its concern about the situation in the light of the disturbing videos that came out this week. I requested more information and clarification on the current situation. ”
She added: “I asked for proof of life.”
Concerns over the fate of Sheikha Latifa, 35-year-old Mohammed al-Maktoum, have resurfaced this week after several news outlets released new videos he claims he recorded in the bathroom of a beach villa that had been “converted”. in jail”.
She claims that she was locked in the house after an escape attempt three years ago, in which she crossed neighboring Oman and took a jetski to a yacht in international waters. With two friends, she managed to reach the west coast of India before discovering that she was being followed by another ship and had been seen by the Indian Coast Guard.
After eight days at sea, the ship was attacked by Indian commanders who handed it over to security forces in the United Arab Emirates in an operation authorized by her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, according to a fact-finding ruling in the United Arab Emirates. 2020 handed down by a court in the United Kingdom.
Latifa had not been seen since, except for official photos released by the UAE’s foreign ministry, in which she was photographed dining with Mary Robinson, a former Irish president. Robinson told the BBC this week that she had been “terribly fooled” into publicly guaranteeing Latifa’s welfare.
“All the windows are closed,” the princess said in the latest film. “There are five policemen outside and two police women in the house. And I can’t even go outside to get some fresh air.
“I make this video from a bathroom, because this is the only room with a door that I can lock. I’m a hostage. I’m not free. I am enslaved in this prison. My life is not in my hands. “
After six months, she was no longer heard from, according to her friends.
Sheikh Mohammed said his daughter – the second of his children trying to escape – is in the loving care of his family.
And his youngest wife, Princess Haya, left Dubai fearing for her life, after claiming to have suffered a campaign of intimidation and harassment. A UK ruling in 2020 found that her claims were true in relation to probability.
Boris Johnson said this week that he was worried about Latifa, while Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he would like to see a sign that he is “alive and well.”