UK police to review Dubai ruler abduction allegations

British police will launch a review of the 2000 probe of the disappearance of the ruler of Dubai’s daughter in Cambridge following a court ruling that he abducted and detained her against her will, Cambridge police said, Anadolu Agency reports.

According to the ruling, made public on Thursday, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, currently vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, “ordered and orchestrated” the abduction from Cambridge, England and forced return to Dubai of Sheikha Shamsa in August 2000 and her sister Sheikha Latifa twice, in 2002 and again in 2018.

The judgment by a civil court, which has no authority to make criminal judgments, came to light after a legal battle between Al Maktoum and his estranged wife Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain, who fled to the UK with her two daughters last year.

Shamsa, now 38, was abducted from the streets of Cambridge in August 2000.

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“An investigation into the alleged abduction of Shamsa Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum in 2000 was carried out by Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 2001. With the evidence that was available to us this was insufficient to take any further action,” Cambridge police said on Friday.

A 2017 review also concluded there was insufficient evidence for further action.

“The burden of proof and evidential requirements are significantly different in family court proceedings to that of criminal proceedings, however, in light of the recent release of the judgment, aspects of the case will now be subject to review,” the statement added.