A terrified daughter of the Dubai ruler begged for help for her father to hold her “hostage” in disturbing recordings that have been released after her supporters lost contact with her.
Princess Latifa Al Maktoum made the whispered requests for help in a series of clandestine videos recorded on a phone that were smuggled into her “prison” village in the Kingdom, said support group Free Latifah .
“I am a hostage and this village has become a prison,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s daughter said in one of the clips shared with the BBC.
He filmed the videos in the bathroom “because this is the only room with a door I can close,” he said.
“There are five police officers outside and two female police officers inside the house, and I can’t even go out to look for fresh air,” continued Latifa, 35, who added that her windows were “closed.”
“Every day I worry about my safety and my life. I don’t know if I will survive this situation.
“The police threatened me that I would be in prison for life and never see the sun again,” he said in clips shared with the BBC.
Free Latifah says the princess is one of nearly 30 children of Sheikh Mohammed, 71, who also serves as prime minister and vice president in the hereditary-governed UAE.
She has been held captive since her father captured her on a boat off India while trying to flee Dubai in 2018, Free Latifah said.
They decided to release their secret recordings after losing all contacts late last year, they said.
“Now communication with Latifa has broken down, we are very concerned about her safety and we believe this was the right time to post some of the videos Latifa sent us,” her cousin Marcus Essabri said.
Dubai has always insisted that the princess was safe and with family.
But Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, acknowledged that she had been “tricked” into helping present this image when she was photographed with the princess after her return to Dubai in 2018.
Robinson told the BBC he had been told Latifa was bipolar and did not ask about his situation because he did not want to “increase the trauma” of his “condition”.
“I was particularly deceived when the photographs were made public,” he said of the images used to “prove” that Latifa was okay.
“It was a total surprise … I was absolutely stunned,” Robinson said.
Free Latifah called on President Biden to intervene and for the people to boycott the Kingdom.
“We need tourists to decide not to go to Dubai and we need world leaders to force Sheikh Mohammed to end this grotesque farce and end a horrible period of human and parental rights abuse that has upset the world.” he said. the princess’ lawyer, David Haigh, one of the group’s founders.
Sheikh Mohammed has long faced allegations of abuse.
Last year, a British judge ruled that the sheikh had waged a campaign of fear and intimidation against his estranged wife and ordered the abduction of two of his daughters, one of them Sheikha Latifa.
The sentence came in a battle between Sheikh Mohammed and his wife, Princess Haya, daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, for the welfare of their two children.
Sheikh Mohammed is the founder of the successful horse stable Godolphin and is said to be friends with British Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2019, he received a trophy from the Queen after one of his horses won a race at the Royal Ascot.
The government’s Dubai Media Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the Associated Press.
With publishing cables