The former wife of a nephew of Dubai’s ruler has allegedly been detained amid an ongoing custody battle for their children.
Zeynab Javadli’s lawyer told news outlets her family and friends raised the alarm after losing contact with her since Tuesday night.
She had allegedly been facing threats and intimidation for years after divorcing her husband and was ordered to hand over the children to him two months ago, Ms Javadli’s lawyer David Haigh said.
Dubai’s Public Prosecution told the BBC the 34-year-old former gymnast was detained following a complaint made by her ex-husband and father of her three children, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
He had accused her of abducting the children during a court-approved visitation session, BBC reported.
The Independent has reached out to Dubai’s Public Prosecution and David Haigh for comment.
Mr Haigh said Ms Javadli spent months largely confined to her home, fearing that security officers would arrest her and remove her children from her care. He said she was warned she could face “coercive force” unless she dropped her custody bid, which triggered a dispute with the kingdom’s ruling family.
Mr Haigh told The Sun: “Zeynab’s home in Dubai has now been confirmed as locked and empty. This was not unexpected.
“From the moment of her divorce from the ruler’s (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) nephew in 2019, Zeynab was subjected to horrific and unrelenting abuses: attacks on her home, threats of arrest, and a travel ban that made her, in every meaningful sense, a hostage in her own home.”
He said when the last raid happened at her home, she livestreamed it to the world, desperately appealing for international help.
In 2020, a young woman claiming to be Sheikha Zeynab Javadli, a former Azerbaijani gymnast, posted a video to her Instagram account. It apparently showed a “raid” on her home by people linked to her husband, The Independent’s Bel Trew reported.
The footage was widely shared online by campaigning groups including the Free Latifa campaign and Detained International. In it, she shouts that she is being persecuted. She claims to have been refused food and water and that her parents were being arrested.
The Independent could not independently verify the video or the allegations.
Mr Haigh urged the Emirates to provide Ms Javadli with immediate access to legal counsel, consular assistance, and to allow her to return to her home.
The Dubai Public Prosecution in a statement to BBC said the subject to ongoing legal proceedings.
“[We] will continue to take the necessary legal measures in accordance with applicable laws, while safeguarding the children’s wellbeing and best interests,” it added.
