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During a meeting in Paris, an Emirati princess, who claimed last year that she was being held “hostage” in a palace, told UN human rights director Michelle Bachelet that she is fine.
The encounter, which took place at Dubai Sheikha Latifa’s request on an unidentified day in February 2021, came a year after she alleged in tapes broadcast by British media that she was being held captive and was afraid for her life.
“Latifa voiced her need for respect for her privacy to the High Commissioner,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a tweet that included a photo of the two women on a Paris street.
.@mbachelet has met Dubai’s Sheikha Latifa, at latter’s request, in Paris. After introduction with Latifa’s legal advisor, the High Commissioner & Latifa met in private. Latifa conveyed to the High Commissioner that she was well & expressed her wish for respect for her privacy. pic.twitter.com/2VxLwVAMe0
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) February 18, 2022
An AFP inquiry for specifics about the encounter, as well as whether Bachelet took the princess’ comment at its value, was not responded to by Bachelet’s office.
The meeting was organised by Latifa’s legal adviser, and the UN rights commissioner and Latifa met privately, according to the tweet.
Sheikha Latifa, the 36-year-old daughter of Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, said she was allowed to travel in June of last year.
Sheikh Mohammed is the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, one of seven members of which Dubai is one.
.@mbachelet has met Dubai’s Sheikha Latifa, at latter’s request, in Paris. After introduction with Latifa’s legal advisor, the High Commissioner & Latifa met in private. Latifa conveyed to the High Commissioner that she was well & expressed her wish for respect for her privacy. pic.twitter.com/2VxLwVAMe0
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) February 18, 2022
Latifa attempted to depart the emirate in March 2018, but was apprehended after escaping by boat with the help of friends.
The BBC released clips of her crouched in a corner of what she claims is a bathroom in January 2021, which it said were recorded around a year after she was captured and returned to Dubai.
In one cellphone video, she adds, “I’m a hostage, and this villa has been turned into a jail.”
Bachelet’s office, as well as NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the British foreign ministry, had been following the case closely and seeking verification that the princes were still alive.
Latifa was being “cared for at home,” according to Dubai’s royal family.
