The ruler of Dubai abducted two daughters trying to escape from him

The London Court confirmed the testimony of the wife of Sheikh - she succeeded

The ruler of Dubai, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed ibn Rashid al-Maktum abducted his daughters Shamsa and Latifa, who unsuccessfully tried to escape abroad, and also threatened his ex-wife Haye, who was still successful. This conclusion was reached by the high court of London, considering the case of custody of the common children of Princess Haya and Sheikh Mohammed.

45-year-old Khaya Bint al-Hussein is a loser sister of the current king of Jordan Abdullah II. In 2004, she became the sixth wife of Mohammed Ibn Rashid al-Mactum. They had a daughter Jalil and son Zayed. In 2019, Princess Hyu, along with the children, fled to the UK. Sheikh Mohammed sued, achieving custody of children and their return to Dubai.

Princess Hayu said that the ex -husband threatened her and that he was able to abduct their children, as he had already done with his two daughters from the other wife. Judge Andrew McFarlein conducted the so -called “process of establishing facts” regarding these accusations. It lasted about a month and included the collection of the testimony of Princess Haya, three witnesses on her part and other evidence. Sheikh Mohammed refused to participate in this, but in his conclusion the judge brought some of his explanations.

The relationship between Princess Haya and Sheikh Mohammed deteriorated when Haya began to visit his daughter Latifa. She lived locked up after trying to escape

According to the conclusion of Judge McFarlane, in the last years of marriage, Princess Khayu and Sheikh Mohammed did not maintain intimate relationships, but continued friendly communication. The princess, together with the children, lived in a separate mansion, Sheikh regularly visited them. In 2017 or 2018, Khaya started an affair with one of her guards. Mohammed, as the judge suggests, knew about it, but for some time he did not show.

The relations of the spouses deteriorated in January 2019, when Khaya became interested in Shamsa and Latifa-the daughters of Mohammed from another wife, trying to escape from the guardianship of his father. Shamsa attempted to escape in 2000, being in the UK - and never appeared in public again. As Latifa later claimed , her sister was transported back to the UAE, where they kept under the supervision of a psychiatrist. Latif herself tried to escape twice, in 2002 and 2018. According to her, after the first attempt, she was sent to a place like a prison for three years, where they kept in the dark, did not give clothes and beaten. The second attempt also ended in failure: Latif was grabbed by boat off the coast of India, returned to the UAE and, like a sister, was sent for psychiatric treatment.

Shortly before the second escape, Latif recorded a video where she told her sister’s story and her own. After the daughter of Sheikh was returned home, this video appeared on Utube and attracted the attention of journalists around the world. Princess Hayu, according to her, read articles that her husband authorized the abduction of her fugitive daughters, but did not believe this. Sheikh Mohammed explained that he had returned Shamsa because she was too young (at the time of escape the girl was 19 years old), was inexperienced and could become a victim of criminals. He called Latifa the return of Latifa; According to him, the daughter was kidnapped and demanded a ransom. Sheikh said that Latifa has a bipolar disorder .

In December 2018, Princess Khayu asked the doctor whom she trusted to examine Latifa. He came to the conclusion that everything is in order with Sheikh's daughter. Khaya began to doubt the need for the treatment that Latif was subjected to, and achieved a meeting with the girl. She lived in a separate house under guard. Seeing Khayu, she burst into tears. “She was without makeup, in a tracksuit and pulled her sleeves in her arms. She seemed to stop watching herself. She did not look bad, but was not happy or satisfied. She was grateful that I came, and said that she regretted that she did not want a scandal - only freedom. She suggested publicly “taking her words back,” Hayu told the court, adding that Latifa living conditions were akin to prison.

Soon, Khaya invited Mary Robinson to the UAE of the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, so that she met Latifa and confirmed that the princess was alive (Robinson then stated that Latifa was “under a trembling custody of the family” and was criticized by human rights activists). At the same time, she herself began to regularly visit the princess. According to Khaya, during a meeting on January 1, 2019, she concluded that Latifa did not talk to anyone from her last visit 15 days ago. Sheikh Mohammed did not approve of the communication of Khaya and Latifa. In mid -January, he forbade them to see them and demanded that his wife not get into his own business.

Sheikh divorced the princess. After that, they began to threaten her: they threw a gun on a pillow and were going to send him to prison

By the time Khaya ceased to see Latifa, Sheikh’s attitude towards his wife became almost hostile. He replaced the princess’s service staff with his proxies, began to check her finances, and on February 7, 2019 he divorced her. The divorce fell on the twentieth anniversary of the death of Father Khayia, King Jordan Hussein. According to the princess, the date was specially chosen to humiliate it even more.

According to Khaya, Sheikh only after the divorce admitted to her that he knew about her romance with the guard. At the same time, he composed the poem “Luck comes only once”, which the princess perceived as a threat. Subsequently, Mohammed, who is fond of poetry and regularly publishes his works on his website, wrote several more poems - according to Khaya, with hints of her betrayal.

After the divorce, Mohammed began to hint them with the princess with common children that they no longer need their mother. At the same time, Khaye began to throw notes with threats; She twice found a gun on her bed. The princess believes that all this was done by her ex -husband's trustee. On March 11, one of the sheikh helicopters flew to her house, and the pilot said that he was taking her to prison in the desert. According to Khayia, she saved her son, who hugged her leg and refused to let her go.

Khaya realized that in the UAE it was unsafe for her. In April 2019, she fled to the UK with her children. According to Reuters, Sheikh’s lawyers said in court that before the shoot, she withdrew 32 million dollars from the bank accounts of her son and daughter and took them with her (in the conclusion of the judge this is not mentioned). According to the agency, after arriving in London, Khaya, along with her son and daughter, settled in a marital mansion near the Kensington Palace.

But the ex -husband continued to threaten her in the UK. According to her, in May he told her: “You and the children will never be safe in England” - and in the summer he organized a large -scale information campaign against her. According to the lawyers of the princess, in June and July 2019, more than a thousand articles about her published around the world, most of which were false. In them, for example, Khayu called the agent of the Palestinian group Hamas and accused of trying to overthrow power in Jordan.

The high court of London admitted that the ruler of Dubai abducted his daughters and threatened his ex -wife. But it seems that this will harm only his reputation

Judge Andrew McFarlain came to the conclusion that Hayi's allegations that Mohammed abducted his daughters and threatened her with herself had grounds. The judge took into account not only the testimony of the princess and witnesses, but also other circumstances. For example, the fact that Sheikh Mohammed has almost unlimited power in Dubai, and the fact that his daughters Shams and Latifa do not appear in public and did not accept the invitation to testify in court - although the father claims that they are free in their movements.

According to BBC, Sheikh Mohammed opposed the publication of judge McFarlain, but his appeal was rejected. After the publication of the document, the ruler of Dubai said that because of his position he could not participate in the “process of establishing facts”, so the judge’s conclusion turned out to be one-sided. Sheikh added that he considers a trial with his ex -wife his private business and asked journalists not to invade the life of his children.

The decision on whose care the children of Princess Khaya and Sheikh Mohammed will remain, the high court of London has not yet accepted. But the conclusion of Judge McFarlein is unlikely to play a decisive role in this matter: Sheikh a few months ago refused the idea of ​​seeking the return of his daughter and son to Dubai and insists only on regular communication with them. Also, the conclusion of a judge is not equivalent to a criminal charges against the ruler of Dubai. Probably, it is able to harm only the reputation of Sheikh Mohammed, who is considered the inspirer of reforms in Dubai and communicates with the British royal family, Reuters notes .

Olga Korelina