INSIDE THE DUBAI ROYAL FAMILY: Where are the missing Princesses? | 60 Minutes Australia

divorces are often messy and costly Affairs but nothing compares to the one that currently entangles the royal family of Dubai the Emirates ruler Sheikh Mohammed he is pitted against his ex-wife princess hire who surprisingly at this point convincingly holds the upper hand in this billion-dollar battle a judge has ruled the princess's accusations that the all-powerful Sheikh intimidated her with guns and threatened her with imprisonment a true and as you'll see other claims against Sheikh Muhammad are so outrageous they're difficult to believe but as we've been reporting for two years now the royal ruler has form there are two versions of Dubai the glitzy and progressive Cydia tries to portray to the world and the dark reality where many women are second-class citizens nowhere more so than in their own royal family are watching this video it's not such a good thing either I'm dead I'm very very very bad situation now a bitter divorce case has seen the family's dirty laundry aired and the all-powerful patriarch Sheikh Mohammed embarrassed with a judge declaring his daughters were kidnapped and are now wrongly imprisoned the Sheikh was also accused of trying to marry off his twelve-year-old daughter to an alleged murderer his house of cards has collapsed and people are seeing the real Dubai you now have multiple ex-wives speaking out publicly you have daughters all trying to escape you have serious serious problems in the family and tonight we can reveal more women want out I just can't stand them I am thinking of leaving tonight as a rebellion stirs in the region I'm trying to lead the revolution I'm trying to make girls there speak up even more and if they're scared to talk I will say what they want to say my vision is to Dubai to be number one Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has it all ruler of Dubai multi billionaire global dignitary and owner of the world's biggest racing stable good Olfa of the Dubai World Cup and it's not just countless dollars and trophies that he's collected over the years the 70 year olds also managed to marry six different women and father somewhere between 24 and 30 children it's not often that people can find a solution in one package highest profile among the wives was princess hire a glamorous member of the jordanian royal family who we Wed back in 2004 it is seen as a man's right to take more than one wife doctor rahani smile is an expert in Middle Eastern Studies at Australian National University and says Sheikh Mohammed does as he pleases in Dubai where no one dares challenge his power the term cult of personality is sometimes used when you look at leaders like Kim Jong hoon is there an element of that when it comes to Sheikh Mohammed in Dubai he's the leader and you don't say otherwise I think so I think we're talking about an individual who's very powerful if you speak out immediately what you will be arrested you can't really tweet against a ruler so I think repression plays an important role in understanding why people don't speak out in certain areas particularly in in Dubai and the UAE in general after years together on the world stage at events like Royal Ascot Princess Haya bint Al Hussein is said to be in fear for her life the world was left stunned when last year princess Haier fled to London on a private jet her husband without warning and taking fifty six million dollars with her seeking asylum for her and the couple's two young children she's requested asylum and filed for divorce and now this royal divorce is indeed a battle royale playing out in London's High Court in Princess highers corner is Baroness Shackleton who represented Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess Diana Sheikh Mohamud has called in Helen Ward who represented Guy Ritchie when he divorced Madonna but the sheiks attempts at damage control have failed with startling allegations aired and damning findings delivered this is not person that should be ruling a country and certainly not one that is is a friend of the West David Hague has campaigned to the United Nations for many years alerting the world to human rights abuses in Dubai and this divorce has now shot a light on what really goes on behind palace walls among a litany of evidence lawyers for princess Haier told the court she wanted her 12-year old daughter protected from Sheikh Mohammed alleging he was trying to force her into an arranged marriage with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman he's the man many people believe ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey it gives you some sense of the regard that he has for females the reality of the situation - by that that's what it shows you you know behind all the pretense that they have about equality and diversity it's just horrific that some father let alone a leader or a country would think that that would be an appropriate thing to do to to to anyone the Sheikh denies that claim and the judge decided the allegation could not be proved the court heard things first turned sour between Sheikh Mohammed and his wife last year when princess hire began raising concerns about the sheiks treatment of his daughter from another marriage Princess Latifah and I'm making this video because it could be the last video I make we now know that that's when Princess Haya realized what was being done to princess early Tifa she wouldn't stand for it and ultimately she took her children and she fled for her life 60 minutes first uncovered Latifah's story two years ago that she tried to flee her tyrannical father it ended up being captured by armed forces that he sent to storm her escape boat near India and then locked her up back in Dubai her friend Tina and Johanna was also arrested on that boat they were telling me close your eyes I will shoot you right here take your last breath now what was the last image you have motivo she was kicking and screaming and she was fighting for her life and you haven't seen let's say four since then no Sheikh Mohammed has always denied the allegations as well as claims he abducted another runaway daughter Princess shams er in a separate operation in England years earlier but in a landmark finding the High Court judge declared both kidnappings did happen it is a huge step that a judge of this significance comes out now and says yes I believe this story Sheikh Mohammed did that I mean you guys were the first mainstream channel to cover it in detail and you know I remember very well at the time everybody was amazed and thought it can't be true this really isn't true we were up against one of the most powerful Arab men in the world and his media machine trying to make us look as if we were lying so to see it in black and white from the highest family court judge in England it's a good feeling for us of course it's never going to be the perfect feeling until the t4 is free princess higher support for Princess Latifah apparently enraged shaped Muhammad and he sought to punish his wife for what peaceful as treachery on two occasions in March last year princess hire said she returned home to find a in her bed with the muzzle pointed towards the door safety catch off nearby were notes reading we will take your son your daughter is ours your life is over on another day a fleet of Sheikh Mohammed's helicopters landed at highest house and in front of their two children the pilot told her they were there to take her to a desert prison sheikh mohammed confirmed to the court that his helicopters did indeed land there the claims they did so by mistake however the judge dismissed that and said he believed to princess highest version of events the Sheikh refused to actually give evidence in person in London instead trying to soften his image by staging a global Women's Forum in Dubai alongside Ivanka Trump all while the hearing took place Sheikh Mohammed likes to think of himself as a very influential world leader this is so damaging to his credibility the hypocrisy the rank hypocrisy of seeing someone promoting themselves as a human rights ambassador and a world leader who values equality and diversity and the reality of what set out in that very clear judgment from the highest family court in England shows you very clearly that the reality and it takes away all the propaganda and all the PR and and all the facade that Dubai have tried to cover up which is essentially kidnapping of two young women abuse of a wife and an intimidation of those around them those are what's been found breaking the law abusing women and doing it again and again and again but if you want to read the damning findings you certainly won't be able to do so in the UAE Sheikh Mohammed now has tried to hide the truth in Dubai essentially it's completely censors if you're in Dubai and you want to read the judgement from an English core you can't because it's blocked I mean of course that's what he's gonna try and do because he wants to maintain his image but his house of cards has fallen the world knows what he did coming up rebellion grows I'm trying to lead their revolution across the region the number of activists have been in jail and calling for more rights for women it's eerily familiar this is my idea but this is another young woman claiming to be a member of Dubai's royal family asking for help to escape I am thinking of leaving tonight why I just can't stand it and I just cannot stand it she says she is shaker Mater Al Maktoum she's not a daughter of rulers Sheikh Mohammed rather part of the extended royal family I'm sick of my parents I feel like the footage was sent to David hake the human rights advocate that another Dubai Princess Latifah also sent videos to when she was looking for help in her own escape bid in 2018 I will leave in a few hours and I just want to say thank you for everything like I really why did made her without a similar story it was the essentially male guardianship system where she wasn't allowed to live the life that she sees all the Western women that are expats in Dubai living and I think that's what makes it very difficult for for local the locals in Dubai for the Emiratis is that they are still under a very archaic system of male guardianship but take the women yet that they their noses are pressed up against designer shopping walls designer nightclubs but they're told no you can't take part in that it must be very very very very difficult and and understandably many of them want to leave david says princess made his escape bid failed and he lost contact with her late last year the whereabouts are now unknown we've been unable to contact the woman in the video but have spoken with multiple people who claim to have assisted in her efforts to flee Dubai saying she was inspired by Princess Latifah sone bid for freedom and I'm making this video because it could be the last video I make because of globalization modernization access to information and also the ability to see what's happening elsewhere I think women are pushing boundaries and challenging traditional practices it does feel like the tide is changing on this now I think so dr. raha nice mail has watched Dubai evolve for decades she believes many locals there her so thankful for the economic prosperity under Sheikh Mohammed that they're happy to look the other way when questions are raised about his human rights record do you think many people in Dubai would know about the abduction and the detention of Sheikh Mohammed's daughters I think so they will have access to that information but to be honest I don't think the population would care very much why is that it is seen as a family matter the royal lockup your daughter yeah but but it's a it's not it's not that they accept it but they're saying that that's what the ruler wants to do it doesn't bother us we're talking about you know privileged individuals here with a lot of power is it perhaps the path of least resistance for the public because yes maybe they disagree with it but the penalty for speaking it absolutely yeah you know it's almost impossible to speak out against royal families in the region and in the context of the UAE that is considered almost treasonous if you speak out against the royal family the unrest in Dubai's royal family is unfortunately not unique a similar scenario is playing out right now over the border in Saudi Arabia this is what the rebels the government the citizens have fought for the princess Basma bin Saud the daughter of the country's second king he's being held in a notorious prison without charge starts with security and quality freedom and education the princess had long campaigned for improved women's rights in the country before disappearing last year last month you know now if deleted tweet she announced I was abducted without explanation together with one of my daughters and thrown into prison I have done no wrong so the state tells you what's okay and what's not okay so if you have a female activist who's trying to ask for more that's not acceptable because you're not allowed to speak out against this state so a number of activists have been in jail and these women have been calling for more rights for women [Music] is the image that cut our portrays to the world of itself accurate no definitely not accurate I shall al-qahtani is another powerful voice for change having escaped what she describes as an oppressive and abusive life in neighboring Qatar your family must be pretty powerful yeah they are they're influential people mostly in the military have their own connections my brother's an ambassador Doha is the glittering capital of Qatar another middle-eastern hub promoting itself as a progressive city on the world stage but this is what life often looked like for Asha in her homeland not surprisingly when she made it to London she cut her hair and embraced a Western wardrobe it might be a trivial element to some but that's a nice suit you've got on what would the reaction be if you walk down the street in Doha in that yeah well for a start I was never allowed to walk down the streets and I'm not even exaggerating if I chose to wear this suit and walking the streets of Doha I would get murdered and this is the hypocrisy of this country I should plunder escaped from Qatar for years but knew she couldn't fly out of there because law stipulates local women under the age of 25 need a male Guardians permission to board a flight so her bid for freedom actually came on a family holiday in Kuwait late last year where she snuck away to the airport on her own to catch a 3:00 a.m. flight to London how fast was your heart going when you boarded that plane to get out it was just like I needed someone to pinch me because I couldn't believe that I actually did this and I was telling myself if I was a blonde girl with blue eyes my family would just tell me bon voyage and that's it but why do I have to go through this escape plan and Prison Break like story just to leave just to you know travel just the my freedom of movement had you read about the two princesses who fled to buy before you made your own bid for freedom yeah I've been looking a lot of stories too about girls who run away I either ran away to have a new life or I stay and just basically emotionally and mentally die and if this plan works and I get to live great if it doesn't then it was worth it least I tried gambling with your loss yeah it's just intense to think about it again the whole escape plan and the things that woman have to go through just to have a normal life coming out I lived in a James Bond movie for a few months now the dangers of life on the run I bribed them and everything works of money in London and reputations ruined is that the type of person that Australians want to see holding up the Melbourne Cup so what now for the divine ruler hope it will be the start of the freedom for the tithi that's next on 60 minutes I shall Kotani is always looking over her shoulder worried her powerful family wants her back in Qatar click here three times it's causing the nearest police units and shows by location on them up I starts recording immediately after landing in London light last year the 23 year old has had to change locations a number of times after her family managed to track her down I lived in a James Bond movie for what three months now take us through why it was a James Bond movie yeah well it's just it was a constant chase and it's just knowing that they're always gonna carry on looking for me I was in Cardiff I was walking in the mall and I could see my brother at the end of the you know path and I thought I was hallucinating and he said you know the same people that you're praising and they're protecting you I bribed them and everything works with money in London I she managed to get help that day and for now is safe at a secret hideout but she knows that continuing to paint a picture of what life's really like in Qatar will make her a target if she believes she's lucky to have escaped and it's now her duty to speak out on behalf of the women still there I think it's very important for the world to see the real image of woman's situation in Gillard there is something wrong about this country you know and how treats women because the amount of propaganda that we produce is just so infuriating for me as a feminist seeing these lies all the time [Music] less than two kilometers away from where we spoke to Asha another woman from the Middle East is also standing up for women's rights Dubai's princess Haier is currently locked in a bitter custody dispute with her former husband Sheikh Mohammed the judge in this case found the Sheikh intimidated his ex-wife with guns and helicopters and also declared for the first time his daughters had been abducted and wrongly detained and that's not the only drama Dubai's ruler is facing right now with the United Nations also investigating the Sheikh over the treatment of women in his royal family now that will be a finding that will be issued we hope within the next few weeks and it's towards very clear that what that finding is going to say and it's going to be very very damaging and we hope it will be the start of the freedom for Latifah David Haig has led the campaign to free Latifah for two years ever since she was captured by special forces at sea trying to flee Dubai he believes it's time for not just political leaders but anyone who does business with Sheikh Mohammed to reconsider their relationships with the controversial billionaire Sheikh Mohammed takes so much pride in his horse racing stable it has a huge presence here in Australia is he the kind of person that is fit to run a major stable the short answer is no and one of the things that we're doing at the Free Latifah campaign is essentially using the judgment as we have done with the UN but at racing boards and racing regulators around the world to show that this man is not fit and proper not just that his he broken the law in the most serious ways he's kidnapped two women abused women abused his wife that used intimidation involved firearms helicopters you could make this up and is that the type of person that Australians want to see holding up the Melbourne Cup [Music] the winds of change are blowing across the Middle East and women have a force behind it from princesses fleeing palaces to brave young fire brands their voices won't be silenced you're trying to lead a revolution indeed I'm trying to lead the revolution I'm trying to make girls there speak up even more and if they're scared to talk I will say what they want to say I think I can I mean I've got the energy I've got the time I've always turned 23 a couple of weeks ago and I I have all the doors open for me and as my friend said London is the city of dreams so hello I'm Tara Brown thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our Channel you can also download the 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Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 3,189,490

Rating: 4.6745639 out of 5

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Tom Steinfort, Sarah Abo, latifa, princess latifa, princess shamsa, princess maytha, missing princess, dubai princess, princess haya, sheikh mohammed, sheikh dubai, locked up in dubai, missing, escape from dubai, qatar, saudi arabia, arranged marriage, princess haya divorce, most expensive divorce, dubai royal, dubai royal family, david haigh, where is latifa, free latifa

Id: syGpm7DM-4g

Length: 24min 11sec (1451 seconds)

Published: Sun May 17 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/PewPaw-Grams]

Here’s the link to the cropped video: https://ytcropper.com/cropped/sy5eee2aa7224cb

[u/001Guy001]

She totally sounds like Amy Lee from Evanescence but nothing comes up when I search the lyrics I can make out ("Broken pieces, part of me .... what went wrong")