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PHOTOS of Runaway Dubai Princess Released for First Time Since Her Disappearance

According to Princess Latifa's account, she tried to escape the country after being restricted and mistreated by UAE authorities. It took her seven years to plan her escape, but the risky endeavour failed and she was ultimately returned home.
Sputnik

The UAE government has issued a photo of Princess Latifa, the runaway daughter of the ruler of Dubai and UAE prime minister, following international outcry over her absence from the public spotlight.

The UAE's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that Sheikha Latifa, 33, was "at home and living with her family in Dubai". The communique, published by the state-run WAM news agency, was accompanied by photos of the princess talking and having dinner with Mary Robinson, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a former president of Ireland.

In this Dec. 15, 2018 photograph, released on Monday, Dec. 24, 2018, by the United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, a daughter of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, left, meets Mary Robinson, a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former president of Ireland, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

"During her visit to Dubai, Mary Robinson was reassured that H.H. Sheikha Latifa is receiving the necessary care and support she requires".

Human rights advocates voiced their concerns over Her Highness' disappearance in March after it emerged that she had tried to escape the country but was seized on a vessel off the Indian coast and brought back home.

In this Dec. 15, 2018 photo, released on Monday, Dec. 24, 2018, by the United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, a daughter of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, left, eats a meal with Mary Robinson, a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former president of Ireland, right, in Dubai, United Arab Emirate

Latifa, the daughter of one of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's six wives, claims to have been "mistreated and oppressed" all her life. The princess said in a viral pre-recorded video that she had been prohibited from leaving the Emirates since 2000. Additionally, in her words, she was banned from driving and her every step was monitored 24 hours a day.

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