Dominic Raab demands UAE proves that ‘kidnapped’ princess still alive

Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum

Credit: AP

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has said that the United Arab Emirates should produce proof that one of the ruler of Dubai’s daughters is still alive, after the BBC published disturbing video where she said she was being held hostage. 

In footage broadcast by Panorama, Princess Latifa said she has been held against her will in a barricaded villa since her father sent commandos to forcibly bring her back to Dubai in 2018. 

Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said the government was concerned by the video and said he would welcome reassurance that the princess is alive. 

"Given what we’ve just seen, I think people would just at a human level want to see that she’s alive and well, of course, I think that’s a natural instinct and we would certainly welcome that," he said. 

Mr Raab told the BBC that the video was "deeply troubling", that Britain was concerned about it and that the United Nations would be following up on the video.

It came as the United Nations said it would question the UAE over the claims, while the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention may launch a formal investigation after analysis of the videos. 

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum drew international attention in 2018 when a human rights group released a video made by her in which she described her attempt to escape Dubai.

Last March, a London High Court judge said he accepted as proved a series of allegations made by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s former wife, Princess Haya, in a legal battle, including that the sheikh ordered the abduction of Princess  Latifa.

The sheikh’s lawyers rejected the allegations.