Photo shows Dubai princess, focus of UN concern, in Spain
What's the story
A Dubai princess who has been the subject of concern from a United Nations panel after being seized trying to flee the sheikhdom in 2018 appeared in a social media post early Monday that described her as being in Spain on a European holiday. The Instagram image was published by a woman identified in British media as former Royal Navy member Sioned Taylor.
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'Sheikha Latifa is great,' Taylor wrote in a comment
The photo shows Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. Taylor's caption read, "Great European holiday with Latifa. We're having fun exploring!" Comments by Taylor acknowledged the location of the image, which matches other images of the airport. Asked about Sheikha Latifa, Taylor wrote in another comment she is great with a thumbs-up emoji.
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Pictures of them in Dubai were also posted in May
Taylor had posted images of Latifa in May at two local Dubai malls as well. The photos' pedestrian captions contradict the fact that UN experts and human rights activists had called on Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to provide information on his daughter. Notably, Latifa, 35, had tried to flee the country in 2018 but was detained.
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In a video, Latifa had claimed to being held captive
Videos released in February by the BBC had Latifa describing herself as being in a villa that has been converted into a jail. The dramatic would-be sea escape and its aftermath intruded into the carefully controlled image maintained by the family of Sheikh Mohammed, who is believed to have several dozen children from multiple wives. Some of his children figure prominently in media.
Further details
Sheikh ordered abduction of two of his daughters: British judge
A British judge in 2020 had ruled that the Sheikh had conducted a campaign of fear and intimidation against his estranged wife and ordered the abduction of two of his daughters, one of them Latifa. The ruling came in a custody battle between Sheikh Mohammed and his estranged wife Princess Haya, the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan.