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05 Mar 20
18:05
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09 Mar 04
After hearing extensive witness statements over a period of time, the court found Sheikh Mohammed to have been responsible for the abduction and forced return of two of his daughters from another marriage.
Sheikha Shamsa fled the family's UK estate in Surrey in 2000 but was later recaptured in Cambridgeshire by agents of the Sheikh, allegedly injected with a sedative and forcibly returned to Dubai where she remains in captivity. A request by Cambridgeshire Police to visit Dubai to investigate her abduction was refused.
Sheikha Latifa made two unsuccessful attempts to flee her father's family, in 2002 and 2018. After the first she was imprisoned by her father in Dubai for over three years. In the second attempt she was recaptured at sea off the Indian coast and forcibly returned to Dubai, where she remains under house arrest. The judge found her allegations of serious physical abuse amounting to torture, made by Latifa in a public video, to be credible.
The judge found that Sheikh Mohammed "continues to maintain a regime whereby both these two young women are deprived of their liberty".
In early 2019 Princess Haya had become suspicious and voiced her concerns. She had also begun an adulterous affair with her British bodyguard.
A campaign of intimidation by Sheikh Mohammed's agents began and the court heard that a gun was twice placed on her pillow with the safety catch off. A helicopter landed outside her house with a threat to remove her to a remote desert prison.
:o
Sheikha Shamsa fled the family's UK estate in Surrey in 2000 but was later recaptured in Cambridgeshire by agents of the Sheikh, allegedly injected with a sedative and forcibly returned to Dubai where she remains in captivity. A request by Cambridgeshire Police to visit Dubai to investigate her abduction was refused.
Sheikha Latifa made two unsuccessful attempts to flee her father's family, in 2002 and 2018. After the first she was imprisoned by her father in Dubai for over three years. In the second attempt she was recaptured at sea off the Indian coast and forcibly returned to Dubai, where she remains under house arrest. The judge found her allegations of serious physical abuse amounting to torture, made by Latifa in a public video, to be credible.
The judge found that Sheikh Mohammed "continues to maintain a regime whereby both these two young women are deprived of their liberty".
In early 2019 Princess Haya had become suspicious and voiced her concerns. She had also begun an adulterous affair with her British bodyguard.
A campaign of intimidation by Sheikh Mohammed's agents began and the court heard that a gun was twice placed on her pillow with the safety catch off. A helicopter landed outside her house with a threat to remove her to a remote desert prison.
:o
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... and former Irish President Mary Robinson maintains that both girls are fine and happy.
Duped groveller.
Duped groveller.
Robinson's attitude is strange indeed. Expect her to say a word in Weinstein's favour.
makes you wonder why the establishment / govt haven't tried to cover it up and put out a d notice 
Can't see him invited in one the royal carriages this year at Ascot.
He can go in the sex offenders carriage with Prince Andrew and wave their willies at the adoring crowd
Attempts to investigate missing Dubai princess were blocked, UK court finds
Police chief investigating abduction from Cambridge in 2000 prevented from travelling to Dubai to interview witnesses
Owen Bowcott
@owenbowcott
Thu 5 Mar 2020 16.33 GMTLast modified on Thu 5 Mar 2020 16.41 GMT
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Princess Shamsa, the daughter of Dubai’s crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
Princess Shamsa, the daughter of Dubai’s crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Photograph: The Guardian
The police chief investigating the abduction of the ruler of Dubai’s teenage daughter from the streets of Cambridge in 2000 was prevented from travelling to Dubai to pursue his criminal inquiries, a judgment has found.
DCI David Beck of Cambridgeshire police was denied permission to fly out to the Gulf to interview “potential witnesses” over the disappearance of Princess Shamsa, 19, after making a formal request to the Crown Prosecution Service.
But the judge, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said it was not possible “on the balance of probability” to conclude that it was refused “because of the direct intervention of the Foreign Office”.
Lawyers for Princess Haya told the family court that Sheikh Mohammed, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, “or those acting on his behalf made representations to the United Kingdom authorities designed to bring an end to the [police] investigation [into Shamsa’s disappearance]”.
The court sought an explanation from the FCO. McFarlane’s judgment states: “A request has been made of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office [FCO] seeking information relating to the investigation of Shamsa’s alleged kidnapping.
“In response, the FCO has confirmed that it does hold information relevant to the request but that disclosure is refused for reasons including those under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 s27(1)(a) which recognise the need to protect information that would be likely to prejudice relations between the UK and other states if it was disclosed...”
The foreign office told the court: “Disclosure of this information would reduce the UK government’s ability to protect and promote UK interests through its relations with UAE which would not be in the public interest.”
Concluding that aspect of his inquiry, McFarlane found that: “Mr David Beck sought permission to visit Dubai to interview potential witnesses, that permission was refused and that the FCO holds information relevant to that request.
“It is not possible to find on the balance of probability that permission for Mr Beck to visit Dubai was refused because of the direct intervention of the FCO, nor, moving further still from the basic known facts, that any intervention by the FCO had been triggered by the father or the government of Dubai.”
Interviewed recently for the BBC documentary Escape from Dubai, Beck, who has since left the Cambridgeshire force, said: “Kidnap is a major offence and it’s not every day that an allegation involving a head of state lands on a police officer’s desk.”
Beck explained that he needed to speak to Shamsa directly but when he applied to visit Dubai to do so, he hit a wall. “A short while later, I was informed that my request had been declined,” he told the BBC. “I was never given a reason why.”
Police chief investigating abduction from Cambridge in 2000 prevented from travelling to Dubai to interview witnesses
Owen Bowcott
@owenbowcott
Thu 5 Mar 2020 16.33 GMTLast modified on Thu 5 Mar 2020 16.41 GMT
Shares
8
Princess Shamsa, the daughter of Dubai’s crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
Princess Shamsa, the daughter of Dubai’s crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Photograph: The Guardian
The police chief investigating the abduction of the ruler of Dubai’s teenage daughter from the streets of Cambridge in 2000 was prevented from travelling to Dubai to pursue his criminal inquiries, a judgment has found.
DCI David Beck of Cambridgeshire police was denied permission to fly out to the Gulf to interview “potential witnesses” over the disappearance of Princess Shamsa, 19, after making a formal request to the Crown Prosecution Service.
But the judge, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said it was not possible “on the balance of probability” to conclude that it was refused “because of the direct intervention of the Foreign Office”.
Lawyers for Princess Haya told the family court that Sheikh Mohammed, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, “or those acting on his behalf made representations to the United Kingdom authorities designed to bring an end to the [police] investigation [into Shamsa’s disappearance]”.
The court sought an explanation from the FCO. McFarlane’s judgment states: “A request has been made of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office [FCO] seeking information relating to the investigation of Shamsa’s alleged kidnapping.
“In response, the FCO has confirmed that it does hold information relevant to the request but that disclosure is refused for reasons including those under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 s27(1)(a) which recognise the need to protect information that would be likely to prejudice relations between the UK and other states if it was disclosed...”
The foreign office told the court: “Disclosure of this information would reduce the UK government’s ability to protect and promote UK interests through its relations with UAE which would not be in the public interest.”
Concluding that aspect of his inquiry, McFarlane found that: “Mr David Beck sought permission to visit Dubai to interview potential witnesses, that permission was refused and that the FCO holds information relevant to that request.
“It is not possible to find on the balance of probability that permission for Mr Beck to visit Dubai was refused because of the direct intervention of the FCO, nor, moving further still from the basic known facts, that any intervention by the FCO had been triggered by the father or the government of Dubai.”
Interviewed recently for the BBC documentary Escape from Dubai, Beck, who has since left the Cambridgeshire force, said: “Kidnap is a major offence and it’s not every day that an allegation involving a head of state lands on a police officer’s desk.”
Beck explained that he needed to speak to Shamsa directly but when he applied to visit Dubai to do so, he hit a wall. “A short while later, I was informed that my request had been declined,” he told the BBC. “I was never given a reason why.”
'Women fleeing an abusive relationship are to be given free train travel under a new scheme.
Victims across the south of England, West Midlands and south Wales are the first to benefit from the "Rail to Refuge" initiative, after Southeastern and Great Western Railway signed up.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
Smart move by Mrs 'Moh', getting free travel now she's in the UK.
Victims across the south of England, West Midlands and south Wales are the first to benefit from the "Rail to Refuge" initiative, after Southeastern and Great Western Railway signed up.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
Smart move by Mrs 'Moh', getting free travel now she's in the UK.
Only Princess Haya could have done what she's done being a princess prior marriage. Maybe the racing fraternity could shun Sheikh Mo for all his influence and wealth seeing knowing what he did to two of his daughters. He's allowed several wives, but his daughters and women in his kingdom are treated like 2nd class citizens.
I think the creator of the universe has erred bestowing that part of the region with abundance of oil given the huge inequality between men and women.
I think the creator of the universe has erred bestowing that part of the region with abundance of oil given the huge inequality between men and women.
The Likes of Ollie and Chapman Treating it as if it is something Special ,Sickening, Hope he does not have the Front to return to the UK race tracks
He can fook off to Dubai with his orses .
Standard Book reader .
He can fook off to Dubai with his orses .
Standard Book reader .
The Times
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and close friend of the British royal family, is nothing if not conscious of his status.
It is hardly surprising that he fought tooth and nail to keep secret the allegations swirling around his divorce from Princess Haya of Jordan, and their subsequent custody battle.
Their publication will also be a big embarrassment to the Foreign Office and the wider British establishment. The dispute, involving the country’s closest friends in the Middle East, showed the lengths to which it will go to save the face of its allies.
At the heart of the allegations made by Princess Haya is a quandary that faces everyone who has any dealings with the emirate, so popular among British tourists and businessmen.
They come for its sunny winter climate, tax-free business environment and luxury lifestyle, and usually return home happy. But for those who fall foul of its darker side, in particular its antiquated legal system, the outcome is less favourable.
False accusations by former business partners or embittered ex-spouses can lead to years in prison, or at best a nasty encounter with police cells. Residents who have built their lives and fortunes can be deported on a whim, after someone takes offence at a Facebook post.
Sheikh Mohammed is Dubai’s emblem. He is modern, adventurous, closely tied into the west, with a love of high-tech and bling. But he also has deep roots in the patriarchal, tough-minded, often charming but sometimes violent, practices of the desert society from which Dubai has so recently sprung.
Those two sides of his character met in his personal life, in his two main wives, Princess Haya and Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum al-Maktoum. Sheikha Hind is his first, senior, and so-called “dynastic” wife, a cousin who has borne him 12 children. Among them is Sheikh Hamdan, his heir.
In keeping with the Gulf’s conservative conventions, her photograph has never been published so that, if she is ever seen in public, no one knows of it. She lives mostly at their estate at Longcross, Surrey.
Princess Haya, half-sister to King Abdullah of Jordan, is young, western-oriented, and a case study in how to be a modern royal. Schooled at Bryanston in Dorset, she attended Oxford University, competed for Jordan at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in equestrianism, and appeared regularly at Sheikh Mohammed’s side at Ascot and other race events. She owns her own horses.
This sort of double life is not that unusual for men of Sheikh Mohammed’s power and wealth, even if in his case it was more public than most. Now, however, it has imploded.
It did so because the two formal wives were not the only women in his life — he also maintained at various times four other women, whose exact marriage status has never been made clear.
All six women kept separate households, dotted around Dubai, with their own children, between 20 and 30 in total. The daughters of one woman, an Algerian believed to be named Houria Ahmed Lamara, have caused him particular grief.
It was Sheikha Shamsa who first ran away, in 1999, and was apparently seized from a street in Cambridge.
Her younger sister Latifa, who spent years trying to rescue her from semi-imprisonment, escaped Dubai two years ago, before being returned in the incident that led to Princess Haya’s own flight.
Sheikh Mohammed was clearly furious about the disobedience of all three women, despite the love poems he subsequently wrote to Princess Haya. “Let the past be; soften your heart/ Forgive my mistakes, and reward my good deeds,” one read.
This should not be a shock. There have been glimpses of his temper before, not least in one of his rare meetings with foreign journalists in 2009 when he was deeply uncomfortable at being challenged over his handling of the financial crisis the emirate was going through.
By that time, though this was not public knowledge, he had also moved decisively against his eldest son, Sheikh Rashid, the previous crown prince. Sheikh Rashid is thought to have suffered a drug problem and to have pulled a gun on, even shot, a member of staff.
He was not only disinherited; his villa was demolished. He died, apparently broken, in 2015.
In person, Sheikh Mohammed seems entirely genuine in his desire to build a modern, outward-looking, tolerant society. Whether you like Dubai or not, it is strikingly different from the city in which he grew up in the 1950s, with his grandfather, Sheikh Saeed, and father Sheikh Rashid.
Sheikh Rashid’s wedding, all the way back in 1939, was a remarkable and historic event: Saeed had posted Bedouin marksmen on the battlements of the fort where it was held, and they gunned down a group of guests as they arrived, cousins who had been plotting to replace him. Merchants who supported them later had their eyes taken out with pokers.
Dubai has moved on from that Game of Thrones era. But its shadows still linger.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and close friend of the British royal family, is nothing if not conscious of his status.
It is hardly surprising that he fought tooth and nail to keep secret the allegations swirling around his divorce from Princess Haya of Jordan, and their subsequent custody battle.
Their publication will also be a big embarrassment to the Foreign Office and the wider British establishment. The dispute, involving the country’s closest friends in the Middle East, showed the lengths to which it will go to save the face of its allies.
At the heart of the allegations made by Princess Haya is a quandary that faces everyone who has any dealings with the emirate, so popular among British tourists and businessmen.
They come for its sunny winter climate, tax-free business environment and luxury lifestyle, and usually return home happy. But for those who fall foul of its darker side, in particular its antiquated legal system, the outcome is less favourable.
False accusations by former business partners or embittered ex-spouses can lead to years in prison, or at best a nasty encounter with police cells. Residents who have built their lives and fortunes can be deported on a whim, after someone takes offence at a Facebook post.
Sheikh Mohammed is Dubai’s emblem. He is modern, adventurous, closely tied into the west, with a love of high-tech and bling. But he also has deep roots in the patriarchal, tough-minded, often charming but sometimes violent, practices of the desert society from which Dubai has so recently sprung.
Those two sides of his character met in his personal life, in his two main wives, Princess Haya and Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum al-Maktoum. Sheikha Hind is his first, senior, and so-called “dynastic” wife, a cousin who has borne him 12 children. Among them is Sheikh Hamdan, his heir.
In keeping with the Gulf’s conservative conventions, her photograph has never been published so that, if she is ever seen in public, no one knows of it. She lives mostly at their estate at Longcross, Surrey.
Princess Haya, half-sister to King Abdullah of Jordan, is young, western-oriented, and a case study in how to be a modern royal. Schooled at Bryanston in Dorset, she attended Oxford University, competed for Jordan at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in equestrianism, and appeared regularly at Sheikh Mohammed’s side at Ascot and other race events. She owns her own horses.
This sort of double life is not that unusual for men of Sheikh Mohammed’s power and wealth, even if in his case it was more public than most. Now, however, it has imploded.
It did so because the two formal wives were not the only women in his life — he also maintained at various times four other women, whose exact marriage status has never been made clear.
All six women kept separate households, dotted around Dubai, with their own children, between 20 and 30 in total. The daughters of one woman, an Algerian believed to be named Houria Ahmed Lamara, have caused him particular grief.
It was Sheikha Shamsa who first ran away, in 1999, and was apparently seized from a street in Cambridge.
Her younger sister Latifa, who spent years trying to rescue her from semi-imprisonment, escaped Dubai two years ago, before being returned in the incident that led to Princess Haya’s own flight.
Sheikh Mohammed was clearly furious about the disobedience of all three women, despite the love poems he subsequently wrote to Princess Haya. “Let the past be; soften your heart/ Forgive my mistakes, and reward my good deeds,” one read.
This should not be a shock. There have been glimpses of his temper before, not least in one of his rare meetings with foreign journalists in 2009 when he was deeply uncomfortable at being challenged over his handling of the financial crisis the emirate was going through.
By that time, though this was not public knowledge, he had also moved decisively against his eldest son, Sheikh Rashid, the previous crown prince. Sheikh Rashid is thought to have suffered a drug problem and to have pulled a gun on, even shot, a member of staff.
He was not only disinherited; his villa was demolished. He died, apparently broken, in 2015.
In person, Sheikh Mohammed seems entirely genuine in his desire to build a modern, outward-looking, tolerant society. Whether you like Dubai or not, it is strikingly different from the city in which he grew up in the 1950s, with his grandfather, Sheikh Saeed, and father Sheikh Rashid.
Sheikh Rashid’s wedding, all the way back in 1939, was a remarkable and historic event: Saeed had posted Bedouin marksmen on the battlements of the fort where it was held, and they gunned down a group of guests as they arrived, cousins who had been plotting to replace him. Merchants who supported them later had their eyes taken out with pokers.
Dubai has moved on from that Game of Thrones era. But its shadows still linger.
So ........ Sheikh Mohammed is exposed as a cruel, vindictive misogynist. Given he comes from a deeply-conservative tribal society, is anyone surprised at his behaviour?
A particularly interesting article Mr C.
Wasn't aware that No 1 wife lived in Longcross; had rather assumed she was kept in Dubai.
Wasn't aware that No 1 wife lived in Longcross; had rather assumed she was kept in Dubai.
I look forward to Chamberlin and Cumani discussing this tomorrow.
Questions being raised about whether he should be allowed into this country. Undesirable alien.
Any word on the Bodyguard allegedly caught shafting the wife. ??
Sounds like a good story for a Hollywood blockbuster
What would they call it?
Who would play...
The bodyguard
Princess Haya
& Sheikh Mo?
What would they call it?
Who would play...
The bodyguard
Princess Haya
& Sheikh Mo?
Was thinking the same myself Mr Salmon, hes in England and his Baws are in Dubai. !!
The Bodyguard - Leonardo DiCaprio
Princess Haya - Beyoncé
Sheikh Mo - Al Pacino
Princess Haya - Beyoncé
Sheikh Mo - Al Pacino
Last one...reminds me of John Wayne as ol’ Genghis
The world has moved on since Henry V111 and at least Sheikh Mo hasn't beheaded any of his wives, as far as we know.
Yes Edward Prince of Wales and his brother Richard vanished from the tower and never seen again.
The chickens come home to roost for Sheik Mo. Always amazed he never got sanctioned for the dangerous steroids, anaesthetics, and anti-inflammatory drugs being shipped into UAE during the drug scandal his horse racing trainer was involved in. Can't believe the authorities can turn a blind eye to kidnapp, death threats and drugging humans.
The chickens come home to roost for Sheik Mo. Always amazed he never got sanctioned for the dangerous steroids, anaesthetics, and anti-inflammatory drugs being shipped into UAE during the drug scandal his horse racing trainer was involved in. Can't believe the authorities can turn a blind eye to kidnap, death threats and drugging humans.
Kidnaps, murders and abuse of power reminds me of General Pinochet when he was under house arrest in the UK. He was supplied with gifts of Scotch from his dear friend Maggie Thatcher
The Bodyguard - Ray Winstone
Princess Haya - Nadia from Bake Off (well, she's on every other f**king programme)
Sheikh Mo - Louie Spence
Princess Haya - Nadia from Bake Off (well, she's on every other f**king programme)
Sheikh Mo - Louie Spence
'Murder, kidnap, torture, totalitarian regimes, human rights abuses, misogyny, homophobic abuse etc etc'
But, is it worth stirring the ship when there are Racing Managers, rip off Bloodstock Agents and useless trainers that could lose out on millions if the right thing is done?
But, is it worth stirring the ship when there are Racing Managers, rip off Bloodstock Agents and useless trainers that could lose out on millions if the right thing is done?
Wasn't old Mo facing a class one lawsuit in the US for kidnapping young boys for camel racing?
It's a strange old world Mike Smith gets a suspension and a loses some of his place prize money for excessive use of the whip in the Saudi Cup.
super-wanchor kevo moved on from the middle ages to the 80s to find an utterly irrelevant equivalent. and fyi castro would have been a better example as he was a far longer-lasting dictator than pinochet, operated ahuge network of slave labour camps full of political prisoners and to this day is loved by the labour cabinet. pinochet called elections. he lost and went away. none of them in cuba for 60 years. its a giant prison that shoots people trying to get out. in common with n.korea, amnesty international not allowed in.
and dobuy doesnt have any oil.
and dobuy doesnt have any oil.
It did have. Still got a bit left but you're right that tourism and related activities are by far the major source of income.
Thought that Princess Haya looked high maintenance first time I saw her at Epsom.
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