LONDON: A princess who tried to flee the UAE months ago is “a troubled young woman”, a former UN human rights chief said on Thursday after meeting her this month.

Mary Robinson told BBC radio 4’s Today programme that she had been invited by Princess Haya, the wife of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, to help with his daughter, Sheikha Latifa.

Latifa has not been seen in public since she was allegedly captured at sea off India in March after leaving the UAE. In a YouTube video at the time, she said she was leaving because of restrictions imposed on her by her family.

Robinson, who was seen alongside Latifa in photos released by the UAE authorities earlier this month, said that she had been asked to “help with a family dilemma”.

“The dilemma was that Latifa is vulnerable, she’s troubled. She made a video that she now regrets and she planned an escape, or what was part of a plan of escape,” she said.

She said that Latifa was suffering from “a serious medical situation” and was receiving “psychiatric care” but did not give further details about her condition.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2018