Ten Things We Know About Missing Dubai Princess Latifa Al Maktoum

Who is Latifa Al Maktoum? The Dubai princess who had mysteriously disappeared from Indian coasts in 2018 has re-surfaced. In a series of videos that have since gone viral, the princess claimed that she was being held hostage at a villa in the United Arab Emirates. The 35-year-old princess also expressed concerns about her safety and life.

Here are ten things we know about Latifa Al Maktoum the missing UAE Princess: 

1. Maktoum is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, and Houria Ahmed Lamara, one of Sheikh's six wives.

2. She has two half-sisters of the same name.

3. Maktoum's father also serves as the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE. He has 31 children in total.

4. In 2018, Latifa Al Maktoum made an attempt to escape from Dubai but was caught off the coast of Goa. Releasing a video through her lawyer, she claimed that she was assaulted, brutally beaten and tortured for days.

4. Now more videos of the missing princess have resurfaced, in which she claims of being held, hostage. The videos were released by the BBC, as a part of their investigative show "Panorama". In one video, she can be seen saying that she doesn’t know if she’s “going to survive this situation.” Read more on that here.

5. A UK High Court  judged ruled last year that "The ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ‘ordered and orchestrated’ the kidnapping of his daughter, Sheikha Latifa two years back after she tried escaping Dubai."

6. Her full sister Sheikha Shamsa was also abducted in the same way by their father from the UK in 2000.

7. This wasn't Latifa's first attempt to escape the clutches of her father. She tried to escape Dubai in 2002 as well. However, she was caught.

8. Her capture in 2002 was followed by her imprisonment for three and a half years.

9. The media and human rights organisations have raised their voice against the unlawful capture of the princess.

10. It is being reported that the recent set of videos that were aired by BBC were shot by Princess Latifa while hiding in a bathroom, using a phone that she secretly received a year after her capture.