Dubai ruler’s ‘imprisoned’ daughter Princess Latifa in ‘grave danger’, claim lawyers urging UN to take action
The legal team of Princess Latifa of Dubai has urged the United Nations to take “decisive action” to protect her after she was reportedly kidnapped on the orders of her ruler father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. A judgment by the UK High Court in March stated that the 71-year-old "ordered and orchestrated" the abduction of Latifa in 2018 after she ran away from the region that her billionaire father rules.
Though the 34-year-old’s condition was widely covered and featured in an award-winning BBC documentary -- ‘Escape from Dubai: The Mystery of a Missing Princess’ -- no action was taken. She is living the life of a prisoner in her own home country. The Sun reported that Latifa’s luxury yacht in which she was staying with her friend was attacked by commandos in the Indian Ocean two years back in March. A 40-minute video released by her showed her saying how at the age of 16, she tried to flee the country but was detained at the border and imprisoned for three years. In those years, she was reportedly beaten and tortured.
On the other hand, the United Arab Emirates has insisted that the princess is safe and sound living in the care of her family in Dubai. But Latifa’s lawyers are not content with their claims and are requesting the UN Working group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) to get the UN to order Dubai to give the exact details of her. Leading human rights QC Rodney Dixon said in a submission to the WGEID, “We are anxious to ensure that the UN takes all possible steps now to secure the safety, health and release of [Princess Latifa].” Besides, Dixon also called on the UN to “take decisive action in respect of this case which has gone on for a considerable period of time while Princess Latifa remains in grave danger".
Continuing further, the human rights lawyer said: “It is most concerning that despite the High Court judgment finding that Princess Latifa had been kidnapped, and worldwide calls for the urgent release of Latifa, she remains in captivity. Her fundamental human rights are being unjustifiably restricted and abused. The international community can no longer stand by. We are petitioning the UN Working Groups on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances and on Arbitrary Detention and other bodies to get access to her without delay and to ensure that she is released unharmed. It is vital more than ever now that the UN should take all necessary action to secure Latifa’s immediate release having been unlawfully held in the UAE for over two years."
Lawyer David Haigh of the #FreeLatifa campaign added: “The wagons are now circling around the embattled regime in Dubai. In the months since the London judgment, numerous people have indicated they will distance themselves from the toxic Al-Maktoum dynasty, including the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II. It’s now time for the UN to add its considerable weight to the fight against the human rights abuses being perpetrated by the UAE regime.”
The #FreeLatifa campaign is about “securing freedom for Latifa, but it is about more than one person” according to its site. “Every individual, regardless of background, has the right of self-determination. That right was snatched from Latifa in what was effectively a state-sponsored kidnapping, but there are many women in the UAE who have never tasted that right of self-determination, whose human rights are denied them by the men in their lives, and even sometimes the women. That is why there is masses at stake symbolically in our campaign to give Latifa the right to leave Dubai in safety,” the message on the site reads.