Missing Dubai Princess in Odd Instagram Post

Former member of the Royal Navy claims to be traveling with Princess Latifa
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 21, 2021 3:19 AM CDT
Missing Dubai Princess Shows Up in Odd Instagram Post
This undated file image taken from video in an unknown location shows Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum speaking into a mobile phone camera.   (#FreeLatifa campaign – Tiina Jauhiainen/David Haigh via AP, File)

A Dubai princess who has been the subject of concern from a United Nations panel after being seized trying to flee the sheikhdom in 2018 appeared in a social media post early Monday that described her as being in Spain on a “European holiday.” An Instagram image published by a woman identified in British media as former Royal Navy member Sioned Taylor shows Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, the AP reports. Taylor's caption, punctuated by a smiley face emoji, read: “Great European holiday with Latifa. We’re having fun exploring!" Comments by Taylor acknowledged the location of the image, which match other images of the airport. Asked about Sheikha Latifa, Taylor wrote in another comment “she is great” with a thumbs-up emoji.

Taylor, the United Arab Emirates' embassies in London and Madrid, as well as the government's Dubai Media Office, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday from the AP. Taylor posted images of Sheikha Latifa in May at two local Dubai malls as well. The photos’ pedestrian captions belie the fact that United Nations experts and human rights activists had called on Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to provide information on his daughter. Sheikha Latifa, 35, had tried to flee the country in 2018 only to be detained by commandos in a boat off India. Videos released in February by the BBC had Sheikha Latifa describing herself as being in a villa that “has been converted into a jail.” (Latifa had previously expressed concern for her sister, who was kidnapped after fleeing their father's estate in 2000.)

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