Princess Latifa: Police receive letter calling for new probe into disappearance of royal’s sister

Cambridgeshire Police have confirmed they have received a letter relating to the disappearance of Princess Shamsa, a daughter of Dubai’s ruler.

It comes after the BBC said it has seen the letter from Shamsa’s younger sister Princess Latifa, calling for the police to re-investigate the case from 20 years ago.

The force said: “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.

“In addition to this we are also looking at the contents of the recent Panorama documentary to identify whether it includes anything of significance to our case.”

Cambridgeshire Police said the review into the princess’s disappearance on a Cambridge street on 19 August 2000 is ongoing.

Princess Latifa, who says she has been held captive in a “villa jail” in Dubai by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum since an attempt to flee in 2018, said Shamsa was also captured by her father.

Sheikh Mohammed told a court Shamsa was vulnerable and just a child and he felt “overwhelming relief” when she was found. Shamsa has not been seen in public since.

The force said: “This is a very complex and serious matter and as such there are details of the case that it would be inappropriate to discuss publicly.”

Cambridgeshire Police previously confirmed “aspects” of its 2001 investigation – which found insufficient evidence to take any action – will be revisited, although the force insisted the investigation was no longer “active”.

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The letter says: “All I ask of you is to please give attention on her case because it could get her her freedom… your help and attention on her case could free her.

“She has strong links to England… she really loves England, all of her fondest memories are of her time there.”

Sky News was able to reveal last week that one of its investigative reporters was in secret communication with Princess Latifa.

Friends of the princess managed to smuggle a phone to her and Sky News was able to pass her questions in the spring and summer of 2019.

In the videos, she told her story in her own words for the first time.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab described the footage as “very distressing”, and it triggered worried responses around the globe.

But a family statement released through the UAE embassy in London downplayed allegations of mistreatment, and said she was being cared for at home.

It said: “She continues to improve and we are hopeful she will return to public life at the appropriate time.”

In a high court case concerning the sheikh’s sixth wife, a judge ruled that Sheikh Mohammed is responsible for the disappearance of his two daughters.

The court heard the sheikh had been “intimidating and frightening… and that he has encouraged others to do so on his behalf”.

The sheikh rejected the judgment, accusing it of being biased.

In a statement released at the time, he said: “As a head of government, I was not able to participate in the court’s fact-finding process, this has resulted in the release of a ‘fast-finding’ judgment which inevitably tells only one side of the story.”

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