The ruling by a UK court accuses the ruler of Dubai of orchestrating the abductions of his two daughters and threatening his wife. The court found that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum ordered the kidnapping of his teenage daughter Sheikh Shamsa in 2000 and also prevented another daughter, Sheikh Latifa, from fleeing Dubai in 2018.
The ruling also states that Shamsa, now 38, has been deprived of her liberty for much of the past two decades in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Similarly, Latifa, now 35, attempted to escape in 2018 but was caught after nine days on the run.
The judgment outlines a series of allegations made by the ruler’s estranged wife, Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, including attempts to have her abducted, leaving guns in her bedroom, and threatening to seize their children.
The ruling also raises questions about the Foreign Office’s involvement in a police investigation into the disappearance of Shamsa from Cambridge in 2000, as the Foreign Office refused to cooperate on freedom of information grounds.
In response to the allegations, Sheikh Mohammed denied all the claims, stating that the case involves highly personal and private matters relating to their children and appealing for the media to respect their privacy.