The UN to raise the detention of Princess Latifa, the daughter of Dubai’s ruler with UAE.

Princess Latifa has accused her father of holding her hostage in Dubai since she tried to flee the city in 2018. Princess Latifa said she feared for her life ina secretly recorded video.

A spokesman said, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention could launch an investigation once Princess Latifa’s videos have been analysed.

Princess Latifa’s father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is one of the richest heads of state in the world, the ruler of Dubai, and vice-president of the UAE.

Sheikh Mohammed has built a hugely successful city but rights activists say there is no tolerance of dissent and the judicial system can discriminate against women.

The Princess has no access to her passport and was under surveillance, so they had to slip out of Dubai and drive to the coast of Oman. It took hours for them to get out to international waters, riding a dinghy and jet ski. By the evening they reached the yacht which was supposed to carry them to freedom.,

In a WhatsApp message to a friend, Latifa declared “ I’m free”.

They planned to sail across the Indian Ocean, and then fly to the United States where Latifa could try to claim political asylum. But eight days later, as the coast of India neared, the escape went horribly wrong.

Armed men boarded the yacht on 4 March 2018, 30 miles from Indian coat near Goa. The friends hid in the bathroom until smoke grenades forced them up to the deck. “Latifa was screaming and kicking, she kept saying “don’t take me back to the UAE. Just shoot me here. I was fighting, and this guy came with a small pouch and he took out the needle and he injected me in my arm. I was transferred to an Indian military ship”.

The commandos carried me through this corridor, and to a big room, and there was in front of me like maybe four or five generals. I’m repeating to them my name is Latifa al Maktoum. I don’t want to go to Dubai. I want to get asylum. I was in international water, you should let me go”.

“I am not allowed to drive, I am not allowed to travel or leave Dubai at all”, Princes Latifa said in a video recorded just before she attempted to escape.

But days after she fled, Princess Latifa was captured by commandos on a boat in the Indian Ocean. The Princes was flown back to Dubai, where she has remained since.

Her father said he was acting in her best interests. Dubai and the UAE have previously said Princess Latifa was safe in the care of the family.

Sheikh Mohammed has a vast horse-racing enterprise and frequently visits Royal Ascot where he has been pictured with Queen Elizabeth II. But Sheikh has faced severe criticism over the treatment of Princess Latifa and her stepmother, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain, who fled to London in 2019 with her two children.

Princes Latifa fought back against the soldiers’ taking her off the boat, kicking and fighting and biting one Emirati commando’s arm until he screamed. After being tranquillised she lost consciousness as she was being carried on to a private jet, and didn’t wake up until it landed in Dubai. She was being held along without access to medical or legal help in a villa with windows and doors barred shut, and guarded by police.