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says Tiina. “My hands were tied and I was taken to the
side of the deck, where two men pushed me towards
the water and threatened to shoot my brains out. Lat-
ifa was at the front. She kept repeating that she was
seeking political asylum, but she was taken, kicking
and screaming. Her last words were, ‘Don’t take me
back – just shoot me here.’”
Before their escape, Latifa had recorded a video
detailing her allegations about her life in Dubai, from
the way women are viewed as “disposable” to the
actions of her “pure evil” father. It was their insurance
policy; it was released on YouTube as soon as she was
captured. To date, it has had about three
million views. Tiina believes the ensuing media atten-
tion was the reason she was released after a fortnight
in a United Arab Emirates jail. “Latifa didn’t want her
story to be in vain – she wanted to be heard,” says Tiina.
“For her, it was a life-or-death situation. She knew the
risks, but said she felt she had nothing to lose.”
F
or months after the capture, Tiina had no
idea if Latifa was alive or dead. Then, in
December, a photo was released of Latifa
sitting beside Mary Robinson, the former
United Nations high commissioner for
human rights. She told the BBC she had
seen the princess, who was “troubled” and
“in the loving care of her family”. Robin-
son’s comments were met with wide-
spread scorn – one human rights activist
accused her of being a “willing pawn” in
Dubai’s public relations campaign.
“I was just so relieved to see Latifa
was alive,” says Tiina. “But she looked
unwell and her face was puffy. She wasn’t even
looking at the camera. It looked like a set-up. She
always said that, if she was caught, her family would
try to discredit her by saying she’s mentally unwell.
It’s not uncommon in the Arab world,” she adds,
referencing the case of the 19-year-old Saudi woman
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, whose father called
her “mentally unstable” after she fled her country
and was given asylum in Canada.
Latifa’s family has only once commented on her
escape, saying in early December, “Her Highness
Sheikha Latifa is now
safe in Dubai.” The
statement, issued on
her 33rd birthday,
continued, “[Latifa]
and her family are
looking forward to
celebrating her birth-
day today, in privacy
and peace, and to
building a happy and
stable future for her.”
Tiina says she
won’t rest until Latifa is free. She spends her days
running the #FreeLatifa campaign full-time.
“Sometimes it’s hard,” she says. “The sad reality is that
I have a whole government against me. It’s been
difficult to get people to see Latifa as a normal woman
who has been oppressed her whole life and not just
a princess. But Latifa always wanted her story
to be heard. She can’t tell it now, but I can, so
I feel I have to be her voice.”
Latifa’s story is supported by human rights
organisations such as Detained in Dubai and Human
Rights Watch, and is currently under investigation by
the UN’s Working Group on Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances,
to which Tiina gave evidence in
Sarajevo earlier this year.
Tiina never expected to still be
fighting for Latifa’s release more than
a year on from her horrific capture.
“Sometimes I think everything I’ve
done hasn’t made a difference. But, in
a way, it has,” says Tiina. “Millions of people know
about her story now and these things just don’t hap-
pen as fast as I imagined. I dream about her release
a lot, about what the reunion would be like.”
She smiles as she talks about everything
she wants to do with her best friend. “I want
to introduce her to my family in Finland, who are
desperate to meet her, and to show her [around]
London, travel, tell her all these crazy stories. [But]
most of all,” she says quietly, “I just want to
talk to her. I miss her.”
“SHE ALWAYS SAID
THAT, IF SHE WAS
CAUGHT, HER
FAMILY WOULD
SAY SHE WAS
MENTALLY UNWELL”
CLOCKWISE FROM FAR
LEFT A selfie during the
great escape; Rashid
Al Maktoum with one
of his wives – Princess
Haya – and daughters;
and Latifa with former UN
official Mary Robinson in
December last year.
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