Safety of Princess Latifa leaves attack on Nostromo unresolved

In March 2018, the ruler of Dubai phoned the prime minister of India, and between them they mobilized the militaries of their respective countries to coordinate an attack on a private, US-registered yacht sailing in international waters and to abduct all onboard. The target was the Nostromo, captained by American citizen Herve Jaubert, and the objective was to capture the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed, Latifa Al Maktoum, who had escaped the UAE where she alleged she had been subjected to torture and abuse for decades. This action, carried out in violation of international law, maritime law, and in breach of both the UAE’s and India’s obligations as allies of the United States, constitutes a major crime which has not only gone unpunished, but which has been all but overshadowed by the story of Princess Latifa’s escape and speculation about her fate.

What happened on March 4, 2018, and in the succeeding weeks during which the entire crew of Nostromo were detained and threatened in the UAE, is a far more important issue than the drama over Latifa herself. Radha Stirling, founder and CEO of Detained in Dubai, whom both Latifa and Herve Jaubert contacted once the yacht departed the UAE, and who was the last person with whom they communicated before their capture; cautions that the US and the international community at large must not let the Nostromo raid be ignored while global attention focuses exclusively on what became of Princess Latifa. “We were responsible for bringing Latifa’s story to the international media and initiating a United Nations inquiry into the events surrounding her escape and capture,” Stirling explained, “But, while we have been enormously concerned about her safety and wellbeing, ultimately, the most alarming aspect of this story is the illegal act of piracy committed by the UAE and India against an American civilian vessel in international waters and the abduction and unlawful detention of 5 foreign nationals by the government of Dubai.”

After more than a year without information of Latifa’s status, photographs recently emerged on social media of the princess enjoying a meal with friends at a mall in Dubai, presumably published to confirm that she is alive and safe in the UAE and getting on with her life. “If Princess Latifa is well and carrying on, we are happy for her. This hardly settles the larger issue, however,” Stirling said, “It is not ‘all’s well that ends well’ simply because a Dubai royal is now free to socialise with her friends after the lives of 5 American, Filipino, and European citizens were irreversibly upturned by the despotic actions of the UAE. Herve Jaubert and his crew were beaten, held at gunpoint, abducted, and told they would be killed, dismembered, and scattered in the desert. The Nostromo was looted, and Jaubert, who risked his life to help Latifa, has been slandered as a kidnapper. Lives have been ruined. International law has been broken; two US allies collaborated in a reckless act of military aggression against an American private vessel outside their jurisdiction; and no one has been held accountable.”