British police said Thursday they were reviewing a recently received letter as part of an investigation into the disappearance of the ruler of Dubai’s daughter in Britain 21 years ago.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary said it was examining the letter, which is dated February 2018, as it reviews earlier probes of Sheikha Shamsa’s disappearance from the English city of Cambridge in 2000.
The latest police probe follows a British court ruling last year that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who is vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, orchestrated her forcible return home.
The High Court decision also found Shamsa’s younger sister Sheikha Latifa, the emir’s daughter from a later marriage, had suffered a similar fate after being detained at sea by Indian special forces and forcibly returned to Dubai in 2018.
Her case prompted renewed concern this month after the BBC published video footage said to have been shot by Latifa claiming she was being held captive and feared for her life.
The British broadcaster reported Thursday the 2018 letter now under UK police review had been sent by Latifa, and had appealed to them to re-investigate the disappearance of her sister.
“The review into the disappearance of Princess Shamsa continues,” Cambridgeshire Constabulary said in a statement to AFP, describing the matter as “very complex and serious”.
“We can confirm officers have recently received a letter, dated February 2018, in relation to this case which will be looked at as part of the ongoing review.”
The police force added it was also examining the contents of the recent BBC documentary “to identify whether it includes anything of significance to our case”.
The programme prompted the UN Human Rights Office to ask the UAE for evidence that 35-year-old Latifa, who has not been seen in public since a foiled attempt to escape from the emirate in March 2018, is alive.
The royal family of Dubai, one of the seven emirates, subsequently insisted Latifa was being “cared for at home”.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary investigated Shamsa’s 2000 disappearance, when she was 19, but decided there was insufficient evidence to take any further action.
A review in 2017 came to a similar conclusion, but the force launched a renewed probe last March following the High Court ruling.
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