Princess Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum attempted to escape from Dubai in February 2018 after planning her escape with Hervé Jaubert and Tiina Jauhiainen since 2011. She first planned an escape in 2002 when she was a minor. It was her attempt to escape from the United Arab Emirates and her father; however, Jaubert’s yacht, upon which Latifa was aboard, was violently attacked March 4, 2018 by Indian and UAE military forces.
Since then, the campaign #FreeLatifa has become popular on social media outlets.
Although forced to return to the UAE with Jaubert, a recording of Latifa was released, which detailed her torture, abuse, imprisonment and the crimes of Latifa’s father Sheikh Mohammed.
Royal officials have cited Latifa’s mental health as a contributing issue, rather than Latifa’s accusations in the recording.
Mohammed has described Latifa’s return as a rescue mission, whereas Latifa describes it as a form of imprisonment.
Jaubert was later released March 20, 2018. Following press conferences and non-governmental organizations advocating for Latifa’s freedom, Princess Haya bint Hussein and Mary Robinson organized a public meeting with Latifa to allude to Latifa’s safety, which was heavily criticized by the general public.
Haya later escaped to the United Kingdom in 2019 after she began to feel unsafe, which has led to criticism of Mohammed after Latifa attempted her escape and his wife Haya successfully escaped to the U.K. His other daughter Shamsa was also abducted in the U.K. and remained in captivity in Dubai since her capture.
Since Jaubert’s release, the UAE’s government has listed him on the Interpol database for kidnapping. As of now, Latifa remains in captivity.
Jauhiainen reportedly had no contact with Latifa following the escape attempt; however, Latifa then got in contact with Jauhiainen in early 2019. According to Latifa, she’s been “enslaved in this jail,” which she describes as a villa with barred windows and surrounded by five policemen and two policewomen.
Executive director of the Human Rights Watch Ken Roth spoke about Latifa, advocating for her release as he cited concerns about solitary confinement and Latifa’s fear in the video released.
“Every day I am worried about my safety and my life,” Latifa said. “I don’t know if I’m going to survive this situation. The police threatened me that I’ll be in prison my whole life… So I’m not safe here.”
While in captivity, Latifa had remained in contact with Jauhiainen, a cousin of hers and the co-founder of Free Latifa David Haigh; however, they have lost contact with her, prompting them to release Latifa’s videos to raise awareness to her captivity, despite government officials in Dubai and the UAE citing Latifa’s safety.
Since Latifa’s imprisonment, the United Nations has requested proof of life due to rising concerns that Latifa has died in captivity. The royal family in Dubai has dismissed the accusations, which has prompted additional requests from the UN and criticisms from other NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Leaders of the Free Latifa campaign have asked U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to intervene and advocate for Latifa’s release.
According to the UN, the UAE has failed to provide proof that Latifa is alive. Dominic Raab, the U.K. foreign secretary and other officials of western governments have echoed such requests for proof of life. Reportedly, the UN will also be raising the issue of Shamsa’s abduction, in addition to Latifa’s imprisonment. Catherine Deveney, a columnist from the Press and Journal, wrote about Princess Latifa, which prompted a petition that has gained over 46,500 signatures.
The UN is still awaiting proof of life from the royal family, just as others have called from Latifa’s release from captivity.
