The missing princess: Part two - The runaway princess of Dubai | 60 Minutes Australia

under the cover of darkness on March the 4th this year commandos storm the yacht captained by Frenchman evasion bear hunting for Dubai's Princess Latifah somebody caught me from behind there was a guy in front of me with a gun to my face somebody got me by in the back they handcuffed me when I was on cuff they threw me on the floor and they hit me with I think a rifle barrel or something where did I hit you in the head take me in the head blood was pouring out of my head no head no not they don't even talk to me do you know anyone ask me if I was the captain or who I was or that's why I say it was a military attack they knew what they were doing downstairs locked in the toilet is the runaway princess daughter of Dubai's all-powerful ruler sheikh mohammed throughout her eighth day escape Latifah had been in constant contact with Australian Rada sterling who runs the human rights group detained in Dubai how did you first become aware of latifa's case Latifah contacted me a few days before the incident on the 4th of March she contacted me via email and I disregarded it I thought it was a hoax and you thought come on Princess of Dubai what I actually thought it was someone in the UAE trying to set me up and for example published fake news and discredit me so we went through a rigorous process of identifying and validating that it was you know actually Princess Latifah Latifah sent Ryder copies of her UAE identity card and passport and then there was this post on latifa's verified Instagram account announcing her escape and fear of the consequences fear that now appeared well founded as the commandos was storming the boat it was very concerning when Latifah telephoned me and said I can hear gunshots I can you know there's people outside help me help me and then completely disappears the cabin started filling with smoke so we couldn't see it in front of us we couldn't breathe anymore so we had to start moving towards the upper deck and on top of the stairs there was multiple machine guns pointing at us the two women were handcuffed and thrown to the blood-stained decks of the boat at the last tanager Heinen's saw of her best friend was Latifah being dragged off the boat at gunpoint what was the look in her eyes at this stage it was full of fear but she was still fighting she was not planning to give up but she said don't take me back to UAE rather shoot me here but regardless of her yelling and kicking she was taken away at that point did they drag Latifah off the boat today yeah and that point they did drag her off the boat and I never saw her again with Latifah gone her valentina claimed they were bundled onto a UAE warship taken back to Dubai where they were thrown straight in prison they put me in solitary confinement and did I tell you that you could be facing the death penalty no the next day I was interrogated by I believe a high officer he said that I would be tortured before I get killed with graphic detail he said for what you have done you stabbed in the back the ruler I said I need not stop anybody in the back I'm just helping a woman who wants to be free no it doesn't work that way and he said that for what you did you are not going to be executed we're going to take your we're going to pry your flesh bit by bit until you die if claims have tortured in Dubai sounds too extreme to be true then listen to David Haig story when you say torture yeah what are you talking about I was basically electrocuted and I was beaten severely there was sexual abuse as well which is very difficult to talk about still and I mean it so severe was what they did to me that when I was released I spent six months in hospital recovering from the broken bones from and as well as the broken mind David was the managing director of Leeds United Football Club which was taken over by a Dubai business back in 2012 but when a dispute over finances erupted it he went to Dubai chasing debts only to then find himself locked up on false charges that he would later be acquitted of it all escalate so quickly because one minute I'm coming there to have a meeting the next minute I'm there is about checking the next minute I'm standing in a police station in Dubai with police officers sitting around back of the head David is now a human rights lawyer and has taken Latifah's case all the way to the United Nations some might say use that for revenge I think revenge is the wrong word you know I mean the end of there girl called us ignore the fact that she's a princess and all the fact that she's into white that's irrelevant any lady or man or anyone have called me and said you know I'm on a boat I can hit gunshots can you help me I think anyone watching this would you say no you wouldn't latifa's candid homemade video was the turning point in this whole drama I didn't I didn't feel the pain it was like a half hour torture session human rights campaigner Roger Sterling released it to the media days after the boat was stormed and the skipper survey is convinced that the spotlighted shown on Dubai saved his life we were going to be executed that I had absolutely no doubt in my mind and if you think of it it's logical they want to eliminate witnesses and destroy evidence they killed everybody they were for sure tried to dissipate it it's my strong belief that without the press coverage without the spotlight on on this case that perhaps they would have been killed or certainly they would still be in the secret prison I was driven to the airport and they walked me through the passport control and all formalities and waited until I boarded the plane that's when I got my passport back as well as my telephone I imagine they were really mixed emotions getting on that plane yes you were free yes you're going to live but you're living your best friend behind exactly yes I couldn't believe what was happening and what had happened it all felt so unreal it's been four and a half months since the commandos stormed the boats and took Princess Latifah away and still there's been no formal response from Dubai neither confirming or denying the details of this extraordinary story our requests for an interview with a representative of the United Arab Emirates government have been declined but unofficially government sources in Dubai have been quoted as saying that the princess is back with her family and doing fine but latifa's friends won't rest until they hear the princess speak for herself they're waiting a very public campaign demanding answers from the Sheikh and his government as to the whereabouts and safety of his daughter if I don't make it out I really hope there's some positive change will happen from all of this imagine if the Queen of England had been accused of the same crimes of human rights abuses of imprisoning Prince Harry and torturing him it would be worldwide outrage and scandalous and there's no reason at all that the ruler of Dubai should be treated any differently it's got more and more and more embarrassing for him because they've tried to cover it up they've lied about it and they haven't been honest and that's made what was already a very bad situation even worse and the fact is now the world knows about what they've done in international waters which they did in secrecy expecting that nobody would and their response to it has been terrible the act itself was terrible the response also terrible and now that they've put themselves in a corner the world is watching them where is she [Music] 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 9 now app for full episodes and other exclusive 60 minutes content

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 2,176,331

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam, Bartlett, Allison Langdon, Tom Steinfort, Princess Latifa, Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, kidnapped, runaway, crime

Id: 5uyNaDfC7IU

Length: 9min 29sec (569 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 16 2018