Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum (born 1985)

She is the full sister of Sheikha Maitha (born 1980), Sheikha Shamsa (born 1981), and Sheikh Majid (born 1987).

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (لطيفة بنت محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم; born 5 December 1985) is an Emirati sheikha and a member of the Dubai ruling family.

She is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE, and an Algerian woman named Huriah Ahmed al M'aash.

Sheikha Latifa has two half-sisters with the same name.

In 2002, at the age of 16 years, a first attempt by Sheikha Latifa to escape ended in her capture at the Emirati-Omani border; she was subsequently jailed for three years and four months.

She claimed in the video statement to have been kept in solitary confinement and subject to "constant torture", physically through beatings and mentally, during her arrest.

Sheikha Latifa escaped from Dubai in late February 2018 and was forcibly returned from international waters near the Indian coast by a joint India–Emirates operation on 4 March 2018.

In December 2018, the Dubai royal court said that she was back in Dubai.

She was believed to be held against her will under the order of her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

In June 2021, a brief statement issued on her behalf by law firm Taylor Wessing stated that she was free to travel and wants privacy.

In August 2021 and after Latifa had been photographed in public places in Dubai, Spain and Iceland, the #FreeLatifa campaign, which had lasted three and a half years, came to an end.

In February 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stated that she met Latifa in Paris and that Latifa was well and wished for respect for her privacy.

Sheikha Latifa is one of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's children.

Her mother is Huriah Ahmed al M’aash.

In a video statement, Sheikha Latifa said that she and her brother Sheikh Majid spent their early childhood under the care of their paternal aunt.

Her early education was at the Dubai English Speaking School and later at the International School of Choueifat, with one year at the Latifa School for Girls.

Sheikha Latifa is an experienced skydiver, coached by former world champion skydiver Stefania Martinengo, and held accelerated freefall instructor rating.

On 24 February 2018, Sheikha Latifa and her Finnish friend Tiina Jauhiainen left Dubai in a car and crossed the border to Oman.

They left Oman on jet skis and joined American–French citizen and former French intelligence officer Hervé Jaubert and his crew on the yacht Nostromo.

Two days later, she made contact with Radha Stirling of Detained in Dubai, notifying Stirling of her departure from Dubai.

She also posted a few departing messages on her verified Instagram social media account.

On 3 March 2018, Jaubert made contact with an Indian journalist in preparation for the end of their journey.

The following day, Sheikha Latifa, Jaubert and Jauhiainen, along with the crew of three Philippine nationals, were intercepted by Indian authorities while approaching Goa on the U.S.-registered yacht Nostromo, call sign WDG9847.

An investigation by The Guardian and Bureau of Investigative Journalism later revealed that on the same day, Signalling System No. 7 protocol was exploited in an attempt to locate Jaubert's phone.

The Daily Beast's investigation revealed the FBI assisted the UAE to locate Nostromo.

On 9 March 2018, the Daily Mail broke the news of the disappearance of Nostromo and those aboard, after being contacted by Sheikha Latifa's representatives.

She had made a 39-minute video before the escape attempt, to be released in case her life was in danger, and it was made public on 11 March 2018.

Recorded at Jauhiainen's apartment, the video explains her family background and the circumstances leading to her decision to flee.

In the video, she also accuses her father of maltreatment of her and her sister Shamsa along with other serious charges, including murder.

The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation confirmed the disappearance of Jauhiainen and opened an investigation in collaboration with the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The brother of Jauhiainen confirmed her friendship with Sheikha Latifa.

On 20 March 2018, Nostromo was spotted at the port of Fujairah in the UAE.

It left the next day for Sri Lanka with the released crew, including Jaubert and three Philippine nationals, on board.

Nostromo reached Galle, Sri Lanka, on 2 April 2018.

On 22 March 2018, Sheikha Latifa's companion Jauhiainen was found, prompting the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to terminate its search in cooperation with the Dubai authorities.

The location where Jauhiainen was found and details of prior events were not shared officially, but according to her family she returned from Dubai to Finland that night.

According to Detained in Dubai, a number of people were detained or interrogated in connection to the event in UAE and Oman, notably Christian Elombo, a French national whose family is living in Luxembourg; Elombo spent more than a month in custody in Oman, from late February to 5 April 2018.

After being released without charge, he was again taken into custody in Luxembourg on 6 April 2018 for 41 days under an Interpol Red Notice issued by the UAE.

The notice was later retracted without notification or producing any evidence for the cited kidnapping charges.

According to the testimonies of the crew, the yacht was being actively searched for by Indian Coast Guard search and rescue aircraft SAR CG 782 on 3 March 2018.