Kidnap inquiry against Dubai ruler sought in UK

London, March 8 The lawyers for Princess Latifa, who was allegedly abducted by men working for her father – Dubai’s powerful ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said they were writing to Scotland Yard chief to launch a criminal...

Tribune News Service

Updated At : 01:28 PM Mar 09, 2020 IST

London, March 8

The lawyers for Princess Latifa, who was allegedly abducted by men working for her father – Dubai’s powerful ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said they were writing to Scotland Yard chief to launch a criminal investigation following a London High Court finding that the royal had kidnapped his daughters.

Allegations

A court has ruled that the Sheikh had “ordered and orchestrated” the kidnap of Latifa, who had escaped from Dubai in 2018 before being snatched from a boat in the Arabian Sea. He is accused of doing the same in June 2002 as well for the forcible return of his daughter Princess Latifa to the family home in Dubai.

Last week, a judge in the Family Court division ruled that the Sheikh had “ordered and orchestrated” the kidnap of Latifa, who had escaped from Dubai in 2018 before being snatched from a boat in the Arabian Sea. “On two occasions in June 2002 and February 2018, the father ordered and orchestrated the forcible return of his daughter Princess Latifa to the family home in Dubai. In 2002, the return was from the border of Dubai with Oman, and in 2018 it was by an armed commando assault at sea near the coast of India,” notes the court order by Judge Andrew Mcfarlane dated March 5.

The ruling followed a long-drawn custody battle between the Sheikh and his sixth and youngest wife, 45-year-old Princess Haya. Sheikh Mohammed, who did not attend court, denies any wrongdoing. Radha Stirling, a lawyer who represents Latifa, said she would be writing to the Metropolitan police commissioner to raise the plight of the princess and her sister Shamsa, who was kidnapped from a street in Cambridge in 2000.

Stirling said, “The only logical step is for Sheikh Mohammed to face an investigation and trial. Heads of state cannot behave like criminal kingpins.”

There are also reports of Queen Elizabeth II, who has a close relationship with the Dubai ruler for decades through their shared love of racing, distancing herself from the Sheikh. — PTI

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