By Muhammad Mussa
LONDON (AA) – The harrowing details of Princess Latifa Al Maktoum’s failed attempt to escape the United Arab Emirates and the ensuing hostage ordeal she is currently suffering through were revealed in a BBC Panorama investigation Tuesday.
In footage released by the investigative channel, the Emirati princess describes how she has been locked up in a family villa that has been converted into a jail. She also describes the ordeal she faced when she was kidnapped by Emirati commandos, drugged and flown back to the UAE.
“I am in a villa. I’m a hostage, and this villa has been converted into a jail. All the windows are barred shut. I can’t open any window. There’s five policemen outside and two policewomen inside the house. And I can’t even go outside to get any fresh air,” the princess said in a secret recording.
“I don’t know when I’ll be released and what the conditions will be like when I’m released. Every day, I am worried about my safety and my life. I don’t really know if I’m going to survive this situation. I don’t know what they’re planning to do with me. I really don’t know. So the situation is getting more desperate every day. I am just really, really tired of this now.” Latifa added.
The princess also said the police threatened her, saying she will be in prison for the rest of her life and that she will never see the sun again. Latifa has not been heard from since the video footage was released.
Princess Latifa, the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice president of the UAE, attempted to flee the country in February 2018. Latifa and her martial arts trainer Tiina Jauhiainen, who assisted her in her escape, took an inflatable boat and jets out into international waters where they boarded a US-flagged yacht that was commandeered by French businessman Herve Jaubert.
Just over a week later, the yacht was forcefully boarded by a unit of Emirati commandos off the coast of India. The pair were forced out of their hiding spot in a lower deck bathroom and were held at gunpoint.
According to Panorama, Latifa fought back against the commandos who were taking her off the boat, going as far as kicking and biting in a futile attempt at breaking free. Overcome by the soldiers, Latifa was tranquillized and taken to a private jet which flew her back to Dubai, all the while unconscious.
According to Jauhiainen, she is being held alone and without access to medical help or legal representation. Jauhiainen and Jaubert were held in detention for two weeks in Dubai before being released.
The videos were recorded over a period of seven months on a phone that was secretly given to her a year after her capture and imprisonment. According to Latifa, the bathroom is the only place where she could make such recordings as it was the only room that had a lock.
Latifa’s capture and imprisonment caused an international outcry and the UAE has come under intense pressure, with calls from the UN and various states to release her. In a bid to appease the international community, the UAE arranged a meeting between Latifa and former UN official Mary Robinson in December 2018.
Last year, the High Court in London issued a series of judgements based on a fact-finding process and revealed that Sheikh Mohammed had ordered and orchestrated the abduction of his daughter Latifa in 2002 and 2018 as well as her elder sister Princess Shamsa in 2000.
