Princess Latifa Bint Mohammed Al Maktoum Abducted? Here's What We Know So Far

Princess Latifa Bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, the daughter of Dubai's ruling family, is making headlines for her reappearance after 2018 when she went mysteriously missing off the Indian coast.

In a series of latest videos, the 35-year-old princess has made shocking revelations about being held hostage in UAE, claiming a threat to her life.

Dubbed 'Dubai's Missing Princess," Maktoum has pinned allegations on her father for her abduction and claims to have been physically harmed by those under his service. Through her alleged two-year-long abduction, this is the first since 2018 that Maktoum has been seen in the public eye.

Here is a timeline of all we know about the case of Princess Latifa Bint Mohammed Al Maktoum:

1. Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is an Emirati princess and a member of the Dubai Royal Family. Her father Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the ruler of Dubai and the Vice-President of UAE.

2. There are reports that Maktoum's sister Sheikha Shamsa was also abducted in the same way by their father from UK in 2000.

3. Subsequently, Maktoum too deliberated escaping her family. Her attempts of escaping Dubai in 2002 were followed by her imprisonment for three and a half years.

4. In 2017, Maktoum with her trainer and a former spy plotted a plan to leave the country. A year later, she disguised herself and with her trainer (one Tiina Juahiainen) drove to Muscat, Oman, where they boarded the US flagged boat Nostromo in international waters.

5. Unfortunately, Indian and UAE authorities intercepted them while the boat was approaching Goa, from where she hoped to flee to the US for asylum. “The last time (I saw her), she was kicking and screaming and she was dragged off the boat," Jauhiainen told Reuters later.

6. UAE authorities took her back to Dubai. They reportedly interrogated and threatened her partners.

Princess Latifa Bint Mohammed Al Maktoum claims she is in "jail villa"

7. Following her alleged abduction, Maktoum sent secret video messages to friends accusing her father of abduction, and saying that she feared for her life.

8. In December 2018, BBC Two released a documentary Escape from Dubai: The Mystery of the Missing Princess on the investigation of Latifa’s disappearance after the capture.

9. A judgement in UK High court in March 2020 ruled that Dubai’s ruler and her father had abducted Maktoum. Read more here. 

10. Now, in new videos released by BBC, Princess Latifa Bint Mohammed Al Maktoum can once again be seen and heard making claims of risk to her safety. “I’m a hostage,” she says, adding, “This villa has been converted into jail. I can’t even go outside to get any fresh air." Full story here.