The story of the alleged kidnapping of Princess Latifa is set to be dramatised into a TV series.
A four-part series about the Dubai royal who was allegedly abducted by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum when she tried to escape him and Dubai in 2018 will go into production in 2024.
Emmy winning screenwriter Lindsay Shapero, who is working on the series, has been consulting with Latifa’s close friend Tiina Jauhiainen to piece together the script.
The Princess and Tiina had managed to board the yacht Nostromo in international waters off the coast of Goa, India, using an inflatable dinghy in March 2018, as they tried to flee to the U.S.
However, they were forcibly taken back to the United Arab Emirates by Indian special forces and Emirati officers who reportedly surrounded the yacht with helicopters and military boats.
The story of the alleged kidnapping of Princess Latifa (pictured) is set to be dramatised into a TV series
![A four-part series about the Dubai royal who was allegedly abducted by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (pictured) when she tried to escape him and Dubai in 2018 will go into production in 2024](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/28/08/78314181-12799031-image-a-2_1701161471979.jpg)
A four-part series about the Dubai royal who was allegedly abducted by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (pictured) when she tried to escape him and Dubai in 2018 will go into production in 2024
![The Princess and Tiina had managed to board the yacht Nostromo in international waters off the coast of Goa, India. Pictured: Image taken from a video in an unknown location where Princess Latifa is seen speaking into a mobile phone camera in 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/28/08/78314237-12799031-image-a-5_1701161922852.jpg)
The Princess and Tiina had managed to board the yacht Nostromo in international waters off the coast of Goa, India. Pictured: Image taken from a video in an unknown location where Princess Latifa is seen speaking into a mobile phone camera in 2021
The drama series is being developed by Yellow Film and TV, with Irish and Finnish producers Jackie Larkin and Olli Haikka leading the development.
Haikka told The Guardian: ‘The women were kidnapped, imprisoned and interrogated, with Tiina eventually deported from the UAE, and Latifa kept a prisoner in her own country.’
Larkin added: ‘It’s very complex legally, but also, naturally, we would, as professionals, do the in-depth level of research ourselves and – thanks to the Guardian – there’s been some fantastic articles and coverage of this case to date.’
Latifa had escaped Dubai in 2018 after recording a disturbing video in which she revealed her troubled relationship with her father.
She was captured on a yacht off the coast of India and forcibly returned to Dubai where she was ‘imprisoned’ and guarded round the clock.
The story will depict her ‘death-defying escape attempt’ in which she was also hidden in the tyre compartment of a car as it was driven across the border.
It will also show the moment that Latifa was found aboard the yacht after it was stormed by ‘Indian special forces and Emirati officers who surround the princess and her friend with helicopters and military boats’, according to the showmakers.
The series will also retell the moment when the UN high commissioner for human rights Mary Robinson, travelled to Dubai to meet with Latifa following her attempted escape in 2018.
Robinson claimed after the meeting that the princess was ‘troubled’ – comments that saw her heavily criticised. She has since apologised, claiming to have been ‘mis-led’ by Latifa’s stepmother – a friend of hers – and said it is the ‘biggest mistake’ she made in her UN role.
Larkin and Haikka said: ‘Robinson was misled into thinking that the princess was not a captive but was instead mentally ill. The truth of Princess Latifa’s captivity was eventually revealed when Tiina released secret video messages.’
![Princess Latifa (left) and Tiina Jauhiainen (right), at an undisclosed location in February 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/28/08/78314233-12799031-image-a-4_1701161504679.jpg)
Princess Latifa (left) and Tiina Jauhiainen (right), at an undisclosed location in February 2021
![Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum with his two daughters Princess Latifa (left) and Princess Mariam (right) in 1999](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/28/08/78314185-12799031-image-a-3_1701161475955.jpg)
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum with his two daughters Princess Latifa (left) and Princess Mariam (right) in 1999
In 2021, Latifa was seen alive for the first time in public since she claimed in a series of videos that she was being held hostage by her father.
In one video she said she was ‘hostage’ and described where she was staying as a ‘villa prison’ with her every move monitored by security forces working for her father.
She said: ‘This villa has been converted into a jail. All the windows are barred shut.
‘There’s five policemen outside and two policewomen inside. I can’t even go out to get fresh air. So basically, I’m a hostage.’
A senior judge concluded in 2020 that the Sheikh committed a ‘total abuse of trust and indeed an abuse of power’.
The sheikh denied his daughter’s allegations and that he ordered the abduction of another daughter, Princess Shamsa, who was said to have been snatched outside a pub in Cambridgeshire in 2000.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk