Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has lost a three-year long legal battle against his ex-wife who accused him of kidnappings, death threats, blackmail, spying, and sophisticated phone hacking
File photo of Princess Haya and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed. AFP
Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has lost a three-year long legal battle against his ex-wife who accused him of kidnappings, death threats, blackmail, spying, and sophisticated phone hacking.
His former wife, Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah, will now be the sole custodian of their two children: daughter Al Jalila, 14, and son Zayed, 10.
A senior British judge concluded the case on Thursday and ruled that Sheikh Mohammed inflicted ‘exorbitant’ domestic abuse against his wife.
What is the domestic abuse case against the Dubai ruler, let’s take a look:
The divorce and moving to London
After a marriage of 15 years, during which the couple had two children, Sheikh Mohammed divorced Princess Haya in 2019.
According to the BBC, the Princess initially fled to Germany to seek asylum after she discovered some disturbing fact about Sheikha Latifa, one of the ruler’s daughters.
After fleeing Dubai in 2018 by sea with the help of a Frenchman, Latifa was intercepted by armed men off the coast of India and returned to Dubai.
At the time, Princess Haya had defended Dubai’s reputation over the incident.
“Fearing for her life”, Princess Haya moved to a town house in Kensington Palace Gardens in central London where she has been living since then.
After Princess Haya moved to London, Sheikh Mohammed posted a poem on Instagram called “You lived, You Died”, which was assumed to threaten the princess after discovering she was having an affair with her British ex-Army bodyguard.
Revelation of abuses, spying, and stalking
In May, 2019, the High Court in London commenced proceedings for the wardship of the two children.
According to a report by The Guardian, the High Court found in 2020 that the Sheikh had orchestrated the abduction of two of his own children, including that of Sheikha Latifa.
It also found that since as early as late 2018, Sheikh Mohammed had used various means to harass, intimidate and threaten Princess Haya.
The court noted that Princess Haya was subjected to intimidation and abuse, including having a gun placed on her pillow twice and threats to be taken to a remote prison.
In October 2021, the High Court found that Sheikh Mohammed hacked the phones of Princess Haya, her lawyers, a personal assistant and two members of her security team using Israeli spyware ‘Pegasus’.
According to a BBC report, the discovery had made Princess Haya feel “hunted and haunted”.
The High Court judgments referred to the hacking as “serial breaches of (UK) domestic criminal law”, “in violation of fundamental common law and ECHR rights”, “interference with the process of this court and the mother’s access to justice” and “abuse of power” by a head of government.
During the proceedings, it also came to the fore that Sheikh Mohammed had attempted to purchase a property near Princess Haya’s home.
Princess Haya told the court: “It feels as if I am being stalked, that there is literally nowhere for me to go to be safe from [Sheikh Mohammed], or those acting in his interests. It is hugely oppressive”, the BBC reported.
The closure
In December 2021, the High Court granted Princess Haya full custody of her children. The court also determined that Sheikh Mohammed must provide a British record of more than 554 million pounds ($730m) for the children’s long-term security and maintenance.
On Thursday, the court awarded Princess Haya the sole incharge of the children’s schooling and medical care, while noting that she had been a victim of “exorbitant” domestic abuse.
Sheikh Mohammed maintained “his denial of the allegations made in these contentious proceedings”.
As per a Reuters report, the publication of the welfare decision on Thursday marked the conclusion of the case which has cost well over 70 million pounds in lawyers’ fees, described by judge Andrew McFarlane as “truly enormous legal costs”.
His relationship with the children will be limited to phone calls and messages after the sheikh himself decided not to pursue direct contact with them, McFarlane said.
With inputs from agencies
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