INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: Super UserHuman Rights Watch asked UAE authorities to immediately confirm Sheikha Latifa's legal status
(File)Beirut: Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged Dubai authorities to reveal the whereabouts of a princess
and daughter of the ruler, saying her case could constitute "enforced disappearance".In a March video, 32-year-old Sheikha Latifa bint
Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum announced she was fleeing the emirate because of mistreatment and restrictions imposed by her family.She said
she was the daughter of Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum and an Algerian mother, Horriya Ahmed, and that she had tried to escape
in previous years.But the following month a source close to the Dubai government said the runaway princess had been returned to the
emirate."What I can confirm is they took her and she was brought back," the anonymous source told AFP by phone on April 17.In a statement on
Saturday HRW said Dubai authorities must "reveal" her whereabouts and "clarify her legal status"."Failure to disclose the whereabouts and
status of the princess could qualify as an enforced disappearance, given the evidence suggesting that she was last seen as UAE authorities
were detaining her," the US-based rights group said.It cited a witness saying authorities in the United Arab Emirates had "intercepted
Sheikha Latifa on March 4, 2018, as she tried to flee by sea to a third country, and returned her to the UAE"."Sheikha Latifa, who told
friends that she wished to flee restrictions imposed by her family, has not been seen or heard from for two months," it said.That raised
"serious concerns about her safety and well-being, two friends said," HRW added."UAE authorities should immediately reveal the whereabouts
of Sheikha Latifa, confirm her status, and allow her contact with the outside world," said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director on
Saturday."If she is detained she needs to be given the rights all detainees should have, including being taken before an independent
judge."Latifa's cause has been taken up by a UK-based group called Detained in Dubai.The group said Latifa tried to flee Dubai by ship, but
the vessel was intercepted on March 4 less than 80 kilometres (50 miles) off the coast of India.It said a Finnish woman and friend of the
princess was among foreigners on board.The source close to the Dubai government said last month that the Finnish woman and two French men,
one with dual US citizenship, participated in the escape attempt and were wanted in Dubai on previous charges."It is a domestic issue that
transformed into a soap opera that transformed into a rampaging scheme to tarnish the reputation of Dubai and Sheikh Mohammed," the source
said.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
