UK wants proof sheikha alive
LONDON: Britain said last night it would like to see proof that Sheikha Latifa, one of the ruler of Dubai’s daughters, is still alive, after the BBC published a video of her saying she was being held against her will in a barricaded villa.
Asked if he would support seeing some kind of proof from the United Arab Emirates that Sheikha Latifa was alive, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, ‘‘Given what we’ve just seen, I think people would just at a human level want to see that she’s alive and well.’’
Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed alMaktoum drew international attention in 2018 when a human rights group released a video in which she described an attempt to escape Dubai.
Last March, a London High Court judge said he accepted as proved a series of allegations made by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid alMaktoum’s former wife, Princess Haya, in a legal battle, including that the sheikh ordered the abduction of Latifa. The sheikh’s lawyers rejected the allegations.
‘‘I am a hostage and this villa has been converted into a jail,’’ Latifa (35) said in the video.
‘‘All the windows are barred shut, I can’t open any window.’’
She said she was making the video in the bathroom of the villa, the only room with a lock.
The Free Latifa campaign, which has lobbied for her release, said it had managed to smuggle a phone to her.
Cofounder David Haigh called for Latifa’s release.
The Dubai Government referred questions about the video to Sheikh Mohammed’s law firm; it did not immediately respond.