Princess Latifa: UN is “very concerned” about the situation and still awaits a “life test”

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The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Friday that it asked the UAE for “a life test” for the princess, but that it did not receive it.

“We have no proof of life and we would like to have one. Clear and convincing evidence that he lives. And our first concern for us is to be sure of that,” spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said in Geneva. . “We tried to set up a meeting between senior officials, with the new UAE ambassador to the UN in Geneva. In principle, the mission has accepted these requests, but we do not have a fixed date yet.”

CNN has contacted the United Arab Emirates for comment.

In secret recordings obtained by the BBC and shared with CNN in February, Princess Latifa claimed to be held hostage in a “villa turned prison” with no access to medical help. In response, the Dubai royal family said in a statement that Latifa was being cared for at home by family and medical professionals.

Hurtado told the conference that OHCHR “would ideally meet with her” and “talk to her alone to examine all aspects of her situation.”

“This is what we will convey at this meeting, if it takes place,” he added. Asked why these meetings have not yet been held despite repeated calls from OHCHR, Hurtado replied that the question should be put to the authorities of the United Arab Emirates.

Hurtado also said his office “would raise the case of Latifa’s sister, Sheikha Shamsa, to ask about his whereabouts.”

In late February, Latifa sent a letter (shared with CNN) to UK police asking them to investigate the alleged kidnapping of her older sister, Princess Shamsa, of Britain in 2000.

“We’re very concerned about both cases, because we don’t know what’s going on,” Hurtado said. “That’s why we not only ask where they are, but we want to know them. We want to talk to them. We want to understand what their situation is, as not only with these two women, but with other cases of people who have disappeared, or maybe they have disappeared all over the world, ”he added.

“We follow many cases, [on a] daily base of people who have disappeared or whose whereabouts we do not know. That is why we are here internally, privately but also publicly, raising his case and expressing that we are really very concerned about the situation, “the OHCHR spokeswoman concluded.

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