Christopher Pike/Reuters
Human Rights Watch on Saturday sounded the alarm over the possible “enforced disappearance” of a Dubai princess captured in the midst of a daring escape by sea in March. In a video released before she reportedly enlisted the help of a former French spy to help her flee, 32-year-old Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said she was the daughter of Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and that she was running away to escape mistreatment by her family. The last time she was reportedly seen was on March 4, when a witness said UAE authorities had “intercepted” her with the help of Indian authorities as she approached the Indian coast. Human Rights Watch has demanded that Dubai authorities “clarify her legal status” after she “has not been seen or heard from in two months.” “Failure to disclose the whereabouts and status of the princess could qualify as an enforced disappearance, given the evidence suggesting that she was last seen as UAE authorities were detaining her,” the rights group said in a statement.