“In response to media reports about Sheikha Latifa, we want to thank those who expressed concern for their well-being, despite the coverage that certainly does not reflect the real position,” said his family’s statement, according to the United Arab Emirates Embassy. of the United Arab Emirates in London.
In secret recordings obtained by the BBC and shared with CNN, the daughter of the billionaire ruler in Dubai said she was being held hostage in a “villa converted into a prison” without access to medical aid.
The royal family’s declaration falls short of the United Nations and United Kingdom’s demands for the United Arab Emirates to provide proof of life for the sheik.
In his statement, his family said “His Highness is being cared for at home, supported by his family and medical professionals”.
“She continues to improve and we hope that she will return to public life at the appropriate time,” he added.
Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum – daughter of Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – was last seen publicly in March 2018 on board a yacht off the coast of India, before an attack by Indian forces and from the Emirates to take her back to Dubai, according to two people who helped plan her escape.
It was her second failed attempt to escape abroad after she tried to leave the United Arab Emirates in 2002, when she was a teenager.
In one of the video clips, Princess Latifa says: “I am a hostage. This villa has been converted into a prison. All windows are locked, I cannot open any windows … I was alone, solitary confinement. Without access to medical help, without trial , without charge, nothing. “
Princess Latifa secretly recorded the videos on a cell phone while hiding in a locked bathroom, according to the BBC. The documentary says that about a year after Latifa was taken back to Dubai, her friend Tiina Jauhiainen was contacted by someone who secretly helped the pair reconnect.
Jauhiainen got a phone for Latifa and since then, the princess has recorded many video messages “describing her captivity in a village converted into a prison with the windows closed with bars”, according to a BBC press release.
“The BBC Panorama independently verified the details of where Latifa was being held hostage. She was watched by about 30 police officers, working in rotation, inside and outside the villa. The location is just meters from the beach. It is unknown if she is still there, “says the statement.
In another video shown in the documentary, Latifa says: “I have been here since then, for more than a year in solitary confinement. Without access to medical care, without trial, without charge, nothing … Every day I worry about my safety and the police threaten me saying that I will never see the sun again. I’m not safe here. “
Caroline Faraj of CNN in Dubai, Mostafa Salem in Abu Dhabi and Sarah Dean in London contributed to this report.