Friend of Dubai princess files 'torture' complaint in Germany

A friend who helped the daughter of Dubai's ruler in her doomed bid to flee the UAE said Thursday she had filed a complaint in Germany for "torture and kidnapping".

In March 2018, Princess Latifa, the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, attempted to leave the UAE on a yacht along with Tiina Jauhiainen, her Finnish capoeira coach.

But on the night of March 4-5 their vessel was surrounded by Indian naval boats and detained by soldiers who then towed the yacht back to the United Arab Emirates.

Jauhiainen alleges she was "arbitrarily detained and tortured by UAE security forces, working alongside the Indian Navy".

She says she was subjected to lengthy interrogations without a lawyer and forced to sign a confession by UAE security services, who she said accused her of "kidnapping" Latifa.

"Today I am starting my fight for Justice for what I suffered for trying to help my friend Latifa," she tweeted on Thursday.

"My legal team have submitted a complaint in Germany asking the (federal) Prosecutor to investigate the people responsible including the ruler of Dubai and Head of Interpol Maj Gen (Ahmed Nasser) Al-Raisi."

She added: "Torture and kidnapping should never happen and those who are responsible must face consequences."

A lawyer for Jauhiainen, Elisabeth Baier, said the German complaint was based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, regardless of where they were committed.

"We hope that Germany's laws on universal jurisdiction will contribute to protect those who are tortured, permit them to achieve justice, and close Germany as a safe haven for perpetrators," Baier said in a statement.

The federal prosecutor's office could not immediately confirm it had received the complaint.

Latifa said in a statement seen by AFP in February that she was doing "perfectly well" and asked for the media to respect her privacy.