Meet the Dubai Princess Held Hostage By Her Father
It’s a real-life, twisted fairy tale. Princess Latifa released a video calling for help, saying she was held captive in a villa converted into a prison, surrounded by policemen.
In 2018, Princess Latifa attempted a daring escape from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Her confidante and Capoeira instructor Tiina Jauhianien helped her sneak out of the country and reach Oman. From there, they rode a dinghy and a jet ski, way out into international waters. From there, they boarded the yacht that was their ticket to freedom. It was supposed to sail Latifa across the Indian Ocean from where she would fly to the United States to claim political asylum. When they reached the yacht, Tiina and Latifa lay on the deck of the boat, staring at the stars.
“I’m free!” the Princess texted her friend on WhatsApp. And for a few hours, or maybe just seconds, she believed it.
Princess Latifa, one of the 25 children of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, said in a video released filmed shortly before her attempted escape that life in the Emirati kingdom had become unbearable. She had basically been living in a gilded prison in a glittering city that attracts people from all over the world, a place…
