UAE Ruler Found Guilty of Abducting Two Daughters and Intimidating Former Wife
United Arab Emirates Vice President and Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum who is currently fighting a custody case for his two children – 12-year old daughter and 8-year old son – with ex-wife Princess Haya in London has been found guilty of abducting and forcefully detaining his two adult daughters from a previous marriage.
Head of Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales, Judge Andrew McFarlane stated that the court found Sheikh Mohammed directly involved in abducting his daughter Sheikha Shamsa from Cambridge, UK when she was 19 in August 2000. The judge added that the Sheikh then also twice abducted his other daughter Sheikha Latifa in 2002 and 2018 to be forcefully returned to Dubai.
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Both the daughters of the Sheikh have since been in forced detention and do not enjoy any freedom.
The findings were made as Sheikh has applied for custody of his minor children with Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, whom he divorced in February 2019 without informing her. The Princess, a half-sister of King of Jordan, was then forced to flee to London in April as the Sheikh targeted her with a ‘campaign of fear and intimidation’ noted the court.
During the hearing for Sheikh’s application for acquiring custody of his son and daughter who left UAE with their mother, Princess Haya had requested the court to find out about the 70-year old Sheikh’s involvement in the abduction of his daughters.
Despite Sheikh Mohammad’s efforts to prevent the knowledge from becoming public, the court issued a decree finding the Sheikh guilty of the actions allege by Princess Haya.
The court also noted that the Sheikh divorced Princess Haya deliberately on February 7, 2019, as it was the 20th death anniversary of her father King Hussain of Jordan. The attempt was made to maximize the insult and upset the Princess on the day of such nature.