A 33-year old woman Sheikh Latifa, a member of Dubai's royal family who had escaped UAE alleging torture for helping a sibling escape earlier, has reportedly gone missing off the Goa coast, reported the NDTV.
Latifa is the daughter of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In a video that was circulated online with the help of UK-based agency "Detained In Dubai" recently, she claimed that her father secretly jailed her for three years and drugged in hospital by doctors to stop her "rebelling". She said that she is one of the 30 children of the billionaire ruler of Dubai who has six wives.
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"I am making this video because this could be the last video I make," she was heard saying in the video. "All my father cares about is his reputation. He would kill people to save his reputation."
In the 39-minute-long emotional video, Latifa is seen explaining her reason for fleeing the country."I do not have the freedom that people have. Freedom of choice is not something we have," she says in the video. She said she is not allowed to keep her own passport and if she goes out in Dubai she has an assigned driver.
The case was first reported on March 9 when the Daily Mail reported that Latifa had left the "strict Arab state", she claimed, with the help of aformer French spy who has a history of helping people leave Dubai on his US registered yacht.
Sheikha Latifa had last sent frantic WhatsApp messages on Sunday, March 4, around 4.30 pm, alleging that she and her friend Herve Jaubert were "surrounded by men" who were firing at them.
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The Mail had reported that Latifa was hiding on a yacht off the coast of Southern India and wanted to seek political asylum in the United States where she had made contact with a lawyer.
Detained In Dubai, while talking to the NDTV, said they had confirmed her identity before publishing the video online. The organisation, however said that they were not sure if the Indian authorities would cooperate with them. "Both were concerned that the Indian authorities would simply notify the UAE of their whereabouts and turn them in immediately," an official was quoted as saying by the channel.
The NDTV on Tuesday quoted sources in the intelligence agencies confirming that they were aware of the case. However, an official announcement would be made only after due diligence.
