Dubai’s ruling family speaks out on Sheikha Latifa

Dubai’s ruling family has said that the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the emirate’s billionaire leader, is being “cared for at home” in a rare public statement prompted by intense interest in the princess’s welfare.

The family released a statement about Sheikha Latifa on Friday, days after the BBC broadcast video messages of her claiming she was being held “hostage” at a villa in Dubai, guarded by police and worried about her safety.

The UN said it would raise the issue with the United Arab Emirates, where Sheikh Mohammed is vice-president and prime minister.

Sheikha Latifa had in 2018 attempted to flee Dubai on a yacht, but her escape was foiled when Indian commandos boarded the vessel off the coast of Goa. The princess was then handed over to Emirati security forces who took her back to the Gulf state. Little has been known about her wellbeing since then.

In the messages broadcast on the BBC Panorama programme this week, the 35-year-old said she did not “know if I’m going to survive the situation”.

“The police threaten me that I will be in prison my whole life and I’ll never see the sun again,” she said in the messages recorded in 2019.

Friends of Sheikha Latifa told the BBC that after exchanging messages with the princess in that year the communication abruptly stopped.

The family’s statement, released through the UAE’s embassy in London on Friday, said: “Her family has confirmed that Her Highness is being cared for at home, supported by her family and medical professionals.”

“She continues to improve and we are hopeful she will return to public life at the appropriate time,” the statement said.

The allegations were a further embarrassment for Sheikh Mohammed and the UAE, which has a carefully crafted image and seeks to present itself as one of the more liberal and tolerant Middle East states.

Damaging details about Sheikh Mohammed’s private life were thrust into the spotlight last year after he and his former wife, Princess Haya, became locked in a legal dispute in London’s High Court related to the welfare of their two young children.

During their custody battle, the London High Court ruled last year that Sheikh Mohammed orchestrated a campaign “aimed at intimidating and frightening” Princess Haya, who was his sixth wife. She fled to the UK with their two young children in 2019 claiming she was in fear of her life.

The court also ruled that he had previously “ordered and orchestrated” the abduction of two of his daughters from a previous marriage, including Sheikha Latifa. Her sister, Sheikha Shamsa, was taken from the UK in 2000.

The allegations against Sheikh Mohammed are also awkward for the British establishment as the Emirati ruler has significant business interests in the UK and is one of most prominent figures in horseracing.