On Friday, following a request from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) asking for clarification on the situation of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum and proof regarding her well-being, the Embassy of the UAE in London has released a statement that she is being cared for at home by her family and medical professionals, and they hope that she will return to public life as soon as possible.
Earlier on 19 January, the Spokeswoman for the OHCHR Liz Throssell indicated that they conveyed their concerns regarding the situation of Sheikha Latifa after the emergence of disturbing videos involved with her, where she has voiced that she is being held hostage by her family and being threatened is she tries to leave. In an online briefing on the matter, Throssell indicated that they have requested more information on the situation of Sheikha Latifa, and proof regarding whether she is alive.
During the week, on 16 January, BBC released videos of Sheikha Latifa taken by herself in her villa’s bathroom, where she says she is a hostage which has been turned into a jail. Furthermore, Latifa expresses that she is not given the permission to open her windows and that they are all barred shut. The videos are the first of Sheikha Latifa since she was flown back to Dubai after having been caught trying to flee the country because of restrictions imposed on her by her father, UAE Vice President and Emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
