Mystery of princess who tried to escape her ‘gilded cage’
Dubai ruler’s daughter snatched from yacht
A DAUGHTER of Dubai’s ruler was snatched by commandos from a yacht after trying to flee and has not been seen since, says the man behind her doomed escape bid.
Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum told the former French spy she was ‘mistreated and oppressed’ and wanted to break free from her ‘gilded cage’. Jean- Pierre Hervé Jaubert said the princess, 33, spent years planning her escape after contacting him in 2011 asking for help to flee her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. He said he picked up Latifa in a yacht in March this year and they sailed towards Goa, India, but she was snatched by armed commandos. The planning for her failed escape is revealed through interviews with Mr Jaubert and Tiina Jauhiainen, the princess’ personal trainer, in a BBC documentary, Escape from Dubai.
The former spy said Latifa contacted him after hearing he had fled from Dubai by sea after running into trouble. She told him in an email: ‘I’ve been mistreated and oppressed all of my life. Women are treated like subhumans.’
Mr Jaubert told the BBC: ‘ She said she preferred to be killed on the boat rather than go back to Dubai. I don’t even know where she is. I have the gravest concern.’
In a video meant for release only if the escape bid failed, Latifa said: ‘ If you are watching this video either I’m dead or I’m in a very, very, very bad situation.’
Latifa is one of numerous children from at least six wives of the ruler of Dubai, which is part of the UAE. After convincing Mr Jaubert she was genuine, he arranged for her and Miss Jauhiainen, who helped with the planning, to slip away from the palace guards during their regular early-morning breakfast.
Miss Jauhiainen told the BBC that Latifa changed her clothes and sunglasses, and the pair crossed into Oman. They then headed out into international waters by inflatable boat and jet ski to meet Mr Jaubert in a yacht flying the US flag. The trio set sail for India, where Latifa hoped to claim political asylum in the US, but were stopped by armed men just 30 miles from the coast and taken back to Dubai.
Mr Jaubert and Miss Jauhiainen were held for two weeks before being released but Latifa has not been heard from since. The Dubai government did not comment on the allegations.
Escape from Dubai will be broadcast tomorrow at 9pm on BBC2