Dubai: UK worried about Princess Latifa's fate

Princess Latifa al-Maktoum, whose relatives have been without news for nine months, in a video broadcast by the BBC.

© BBC screenshot

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The head of the British diplomacy has just requested proof of life of Princess Latifa, the daughter of the Emir of Dubai.

The latter, who had tried to flee from her home in 2018, claims to be held hostage today and fear for her life.

She sent videos to the BBC.

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The head of British diplomacy wished on Wednesday to see proof of life of Princess Latifa, the daughter of the Emir of Dubai, who says she is being held " 

hostage

 " and fears for her life in videos broadcast by the BBC and Sky News.

“ 

I'm making this video of the toilet because it's the only room I can lock.

In this

video released by the BBC

, we can see the worried face of Princess Latifa who says she is being held hostage in a villa controlled by police.

 Every day I fear for my safety and my life.

(...) The police tell me that I will be in prison all my life and that I will never see the sun again. 

Princess Latifa, 35, daughter of Emir Mohammed ben Rached al-Maktoum, tried to escape by boat from Dubai in 2018, claiming to have been tortured by her father.

But she had been taken home, for her own sake, they said at the time.

Since then, her relatives, who say they have not heard from her, have transmitted videos in which she says she is locked in a "

 villa transformed into a prison

 " with windows sealed off and guarded by police officers. 

Accused of kidnapping two of his daughters

Following the broadcast of the report, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights told the BBC that she would question the United Arab Emirates about the princess.

The Emir of Dubai is in the sights of the British authorities.

In March 2020, the court formally accused him of having ordered the

kidnapping of two of his daughters

, including Latifa.

A year earlier, it was Princess Haya, the sovereign's sixth wife, who fled to London with their two children.

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  • United Arab Emirates

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