Princess Latifa asks UK police to reopen probe into sister’s abduction

Princess Latifa Al Maktoum, the captive daughter of Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,

Campaigners acting on behalf of Princess Latifa, the captive Emirati princess, have passed a letter to UK police in which she urges them to reinvestigate the suspected kidnapping of her sister more than 2 years ago in Cambridge.

In the letter, seen by the BBC, the Princess urges Cambridgeshire police to help free her sister, Princess Shamsa.

She had allegedly been abducted in July 2000 after slipping away from her family’s estate in Surrey, tracked down in Cambridge, and then returned to Dubai on her father’s orders. 

She was 18 at the time and has not been seen since. 

Princess Shamsa, who vanished in 2000

The letter, which was written in 2019, said, according to the BBC: "All I ask of you is to please give attention on her case because it could get her her freedom… your help and attention on her case could free her."

"She has strong links to England… she really loves England, all of her fondest memories are of her time there."

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said the letter would be looked at "as part of an ongoing review."

They added: "This is a very complex and serious matter and as such there are details of the case that it would be inappropriate to discuss publicly."  

The BBC said the Princesses’ father and Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, did not respond to a request for comment. The UK Foreign Office also declined to comment.