LONDON – Dubai’s billionaire sovereign Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has orchestrated the kidnappings, torture and imprisonment of two of his princess daughters, according to documents released this week by a British judge.
The decision of High Court judge Andrew McFarlane was part of a “fact-finding” judgment related to a separate ongoing child custody case between Sheikh Mohammed and his distant ex-wife, Princess Haya Bint Al -Hussein.
The Dubai leader, 70, filed a lawsuit in Britain last May against Princess Haya, 45, to demand the return of their two young children to Dubai. Princess Haya, who is the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, is the sixth wife of Sheikh Mohammed. She wants their children, aged 12 and 8, to stay in Britain, where she has been educated and has close ties, fearing that they will be injured if they are returned to Dubai. Counsel for Princess Haya argued that the treatment of her two older daughters Sheikh Mohammed showed that her children were also at risk of being abducted. The decision does not constitute a criminal charge.
Instead, Thursday’s decision concerns the events surrounding the disappearance of two of Sheikh Mohammed’s daughters from a previous marriage: Princess Shamsa, who disappeared from the streets of Cambridge in 2000, when she was 19; and Princess Latifa, who planned her escape from the ruling family of Dubai for seven years, fleeing what she said was her father’s oppressive and cruel treatment.
Princess Latifa was seized by Indian army commandos in 2018 in the Indian Ocean and forcibly returned to Dubai at the age of 32. She sought to flee the city-state on a private sailboat, headed by a former French intelligence officer. His plight, which defies almost any belief, has been highlighted by USA TODAY and other media.
Princess Latifa tried to flee Dubai:She left a video to prove it
Sheikh Mohammed tried to keep McFarlane’s judgment out of the public domain. But his appeal was dismissed after the court found it to be in the public interest. McFarlane found that Princess Haya’s allegations about the threats she and her children faced from Sheikh Mohammed were credible due to the kidnappings and disappearances of Princess Shamsa and Princess Latifa. The first has not been seen in public for 20 years and shortly before her return to Dubai, Princess Latifa said in a video posted on Youtube that her sister was drugged. Princess Latifa has appeared in public only once since her abduction. She seemed dazed and confused.
After the decision, Sheikh Mohammed said in a statement that “as head of government, I was unable to participate in the fact-finding process of the court. This resulted in the publication of a judgment fact-finding that inevitably tells only part of the story. ” He asked the media to respect the privacy of his children.
Sheikh Mohammed, who has been the leader of Dubai since 2006, has an estimated wealth of $ 4 billion, according to Forbes, making him one of the wealthiest members of the royal family in the world. He is a major figure in horse racing and animal husbandry and owns and operates two horse farms in Kentucky. Last year, he received a Queen Elizabeth II trophy after one of his horses won a race at Royal Ascot.
He has about 30 children with his six wives.
Princess Haya:The wife of the sovereign of Dubai, hidden in London
Sheikh Mohammed is also Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
He described his emirate as enlightened and favorable to the West. An example: DAMAC Properties of Dubai owns and operates the only Trump brand golf club in the Middle East. Dubai has world class infrastructure, luxury shopping malls, a skyline filled with skyscrapers and a large expatriate population.
Its human rights record is also poor.
Laws in the United Arab Emirates give priority to men in matters of marriage, divorce and child custody. It still allows domestic violence. Princess Latifa was not allowed to travel and study outside of Dubai. A guardian or male guardian followed her everywhere. Princess Haya has been hiding with her children in London for months.
Tiina Jauhiainen, a Finnish citizen who helped Princess Latifa derail her failed Dubai escape plan and has been fighting for her release ever since, said in a WhatsApp message on Friday that she was “delighted and happy” that details of Princess Haya’s court case could be made public. but also “saddened” because if the court concluded that Princess Latifa had been illegally kidnapped, “she is still being held against her will”.