PRINCESS Latifa has begged UK cops to reopen a probe into her older sister’s ‘kidnapping’ after she was snatched from a Cambridge street more than 20 years ago amid her own audacious escape attempt from the Dubai Royal family.
In a letter to cops, Princess Latifa begs for help for her sister Shamsa’s ‘freedom’, revealing chilling details of her ‘torture’.
Princess Latifa, the captive daughter of Dubai's ruler, believes if UK police reopen the investigation, it could mean the end of her older sister’s own ‘hostage’ situation.
In the letter which emerged yesterday, Princess Latifa calls on Cambridgeshire police to probe Shamsa’s capture in 2000, reports the BBC.
The older Princess Shamsa was 18 when she made a risky escape from her family’s luxury estate in Surrey but was captured just two months later and has not been seen in public since.
“All I ask of you is to please give attention on her case because it could get her her freedom…your help and attention on her case could free her,” writes Princess Latifa in the disturbing letter.
The note also reveals horrific details of Princess Shamsa’s ordeal after she was returned to Dubai.
"She was kept incommunicado with no release date, trial or charge. She was tortured by getting her feet caned…"
She adds: "She has strong links to England… she really loves England, all of her fondest memories are of her time there."
Princess Latifa's handwritten note, which was passed to cops in Cambridgeshire by her friends on Wednesday, was written in 2019 while she was being held in solitary confinement.
She dated the letter February 2018, before her own escape attempt, to avoid revealing that she had a way of communicating with the outside world from captivity.
Cops in Cambridgeshire had first launched an investigation into Shamsa’s disappearance in 2001 but it hit a dead end when they were denied entry to Dubai.
But a High Court judge ruled in 2019 that Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum had abducted both daughters and was holding them against their will.
The women – who are the Sheikh’s daughters with one of his wives, Algerian Houria Ahmed Lamara – have attracted high-profile international attention but their exact whereabouts and current physical condition remain a mystery.
Princess Shamsa – who is now 39 – ran away while on holiday with members of her family at their Surrey estate in July 2000, but was snatched from a street in Cambridge on August 19 the same year.
She said that one night, after visiting a bar with two friends, a car pulled up with at least four armed men inside – whom she claimed were Dubai nationals from Sheikh Mohammed’s personal staff.
Shamsa said she was ordered into the car, driven to a property in Newmarket, Suffolk, and flown to Dubai by private jet the next day.
Police reviewed the investigation in 2018, with one investigator acknowledging there were "significant sensitivities" with the case, reported the BBC.
A further review was launched after the High Court judgment was published in 2020.
In a statement, Cambridgeshire Police said it had received Latifa's letter, which "will be looked at as part of the ongoing review".
"This is a very complex and serious matter and as such there are details of the case that it would be inappropriate to discuss publicly," it added.
The women’s powerful father is said to have waged a campaign of terror and abuse on family members over the years.
The Sheikh’s sixth wife Princess Haya is among family members who have tried to escape his clutches.
In 2019, she managed to successfully make a bid for freedom to escape to the UK, amid fears he was going to kill her and her young son and daughter.
Shocking videos have emerged in recent weeks in which Princess Latifa described how she was being held "hostage" by her father following a failed escape attempt in 2018.
Haunting video shared with the BBC shows Latifa crouched against the wall in a bathroom and using a mobile phone as she records a chilling message.
"I'm a hostage, I'm not free. I am imprisoned in this jail. My life is not in my hands," the 35-year-old says.
Three years ago, with the help of her friend Tiina Jauhiainen, Latifa tried to flee Dubai for a new life abroad.
Days into her escape she was forcibly removed by armed men on a yacht off the coast of India, and taken back to Dubai.
In the videos Latifa says: "I have been here ever since, for more than a year in solitary confinement.
The UN has since asked the United Arab Emirates for proof that Latifa is alive.
Ex-UN rights envoy Mary Robinson, who had described Latifa as a "troubled young woman" after meeting her in 2018, now says she was "horribly tricked" by the princess's family.
The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and president of Ireland has joined calls for international action to establish Latifa's current condition and whereabouts
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