A Dubai princess who was seized trying to flee the sheikhdom in 2018 paid €200,000-€300,000 for a fake Irish passport to aid her escape, a human rights lawyer involved in her campaign for freedom has said.

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum (37) tried to flee the country in 2018 but was detained by commandos in a boat off India.

Ms Latifa set out by a dinghy and jet ski, before arriving at a pre-purchased boat that was located at a point nearly 27km off the coast of Oman, according to an article published recently in the New Yorker magazine. The plan was then to sail to India or Sri Lanka, and Ms Latifa would use a fake Irish passport to fly to the US.

However, in footage released by the BBC in February 2021, she said she had been drugged during her escape attempt and taken back into detention.

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