Who is Princess Latifa’s sister Princess Shamsa?

PRINCESS Latifa and her older sister Princess Shamsa have tried to escape from their family in separate occasions, but have been found and brought back to Dubai.

The women are both daughters of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and one of his wives, Houria Ahmed Lamara - who is Algerian.

Who is Princess Latifa's sister Princess Shamsa?

Princess Shamsa, 38, is a member of the Dubai ruling family. 

She disappeared at the age of 19 after being caught following an attempted escape from the clutches of her father.

Her sister Princess Latifa also tried to escape years later, but she was caught and brought back to the United Arab Emirates.

In a series of secret videos she sent to her friends, Latifa accused her father of holding her hostage in a Dubai villa.

When did Princess Shamsa run away?

Princess Shamsa ran away while on holiday with members of her family at their Surrey estate in July 2000, but was snatched from a street in Cambridge one month later.

After escaping from Surrey, she went to a temporary hostel in south London.

Princess Shamsa, then aged 19, met an immigration solicitor and sought advice about remaining in Britain.

She then travelled to Cambridge, from where she was abducted.

She said that one night, after visiting a bar with two friends, a car pulled up with at least four armed men inside - whom she claimed were Dubai nationals from Sheikh Mohammed’s personal staff.

Shamsa said she was ordered into the car, driven to a property in Newmarket, Suffolk, and flown to Dubai by private jet the next day.

Recalling her abduction, she sent an email to her solicitor alleging: "I was caught by my father, he managed to track me down through someone I kept in touch with.

"I was caught on the 19th August, in Cambridge. He sent four Arab men to catch me, they were carrying guns and threatening me, they drove me to my father’s place in Newmarket, there they gave me two injections and a handful of tablets, the very next morning a helicopter came and flew me to the plane, which took me back to Dubai. I am locked up until today."

She added: "I haven’t seen anyone, not even the man you call my father. I told you this would happen … I know these people, they have all the money, they have all the power, they think they can do anything.

"You said that if he kidnapped me, you would contact the Home Office and involve them. Now, I am not only asking you to report this immediately, I am asking your help and to involve the authorities (involve everyone)."

Where is Princess Shamsa now?

Princess Shamsa has not been seen in public for 20 years.

It is alleged that she lives as a prisoner in Dubai's gilded cage.

An insider who has come into contact with Shamsa has claimed that for nearly two decades the Princess has been tortured, jailed and drugged.

Her sister Latifa tried to escape in 2018, but was later caught and brought back to Dubai - where she accused her father of holding her hostage.

In a secret video she sent to her friends, Latifa said: "I'm a hostage and this villa has been converted into a jail. All the windows are barred shut, I can't open any window."

Her friends are now calling for the UN to step in because she stopped sending them messages.