UAE: As missing Dubai princess' video resurfaces, Latifa's lawers urge govt to release her

Attorneys for the daughter of Dubai's ruler on Wednesday asked the Gulf emirate to release the detained princess, who, they alleged has been held in captivity for more than three years. Asserting that the UAE must “avoid further international scandal”, the lawyers appealed to set free Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, after video footage of her recorded in a locked bathroom inside the Dubai villa surfaced on BBC. In the video that caused a stir worldwide, the detained princess made a plea for freedom and asked the UN's human rights body to probe into her whereabouts. According to Associated Press, the 35-year-old princess, who was arrested by the commandos off the Indian coast in 2018, hasn’t been heard since she stopped responding to text messages six months ago. 

Renewing calls for the release of the daughter of the Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also the Prime minister and vice president of UAE, London-based attorney for Sheikha Latifa, Rodney Dixon said that he ‘hopes’ UAE will release her. “she just wants to be free,” the attorney told AP in an interview, all the while downplaying the international sanctions against the Kingdom. “Of course, steps can be taken to, as I've said before, look to impose sanctions, take other actions,” Dixon told The Associated Press.“But why go down that route when we have a simple solution here which should be followed right away. Why protract it any longer, getting involved in legal avenues, litigation? This never ultimately benefits anyone over the long term. Better to sort it out right now and do the right thing,” he said. 

Read: UAE Aviation Agency Clears Boeing 737 Max To Fly Again

Read: UK PM 'concerned' Over Missing UAE Princess Issue

“They want propaganda from me. They wanted me to do a video and say that I''m here happily and voluntarily. And I refused,'" Latifa said in a video obtained by The Associated Press. “I don''t know what can happen to me and how long this will last. And if they decide to release me, like how my life would be. But I''m not safe at all.”

Intimidation against Dubai ruler's wife

In 2019, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s estranged wife, Princess Haya, fled to London, where she wanted custody of her two children through the British courts. However, ruling in favour of the Dubai ruler, the court launched intimidation against Princess Haya and abducted her two children, including Sheikha Latifa. A form personal trainer to the princess told BBC that Latifa’s friend recorded the video diaries on a phone and smuggled it, wherein the princess can be heard saying that she was “worried about her safety and life.”

Read: Princess Latifa Claims She Is Being Held 'hostage In A Villa Converted Into A Jail'

Read: Ukrainian President Visits UAE To Boost Business Ties

(Image Credit: AP)