Mary Robinson labelled a 'willing pawn' over visit with UAE princess
Source: The Guardian
Mary Robinson labelled a 'willing pawn' over visit with UAE princess
Former UN human rights chief posed with royal but critics say princess is held against her will
Ben Quinn
Thu 27 Dec 2018 18.03 GMT Last modified on Thu 27 Dec 2018 19.25 GMT
Mary Robinson, the former UN high commissioner for human rights, has come under fire for claiming that an Emirati princess campaigners say is being held against her will is in the loving care of her family.
The former Irish president made the comments after the 33-year-olds family released pictures showing her in Dubai with Robinson, claiming they rebut allegations that she was taken home against her will.
Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum, a daughter of Dubais ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, had not been heard from since she was seized from a yacht off the coast of India in March.
In a video that she instructed friends to release in case an attempt to escape Dubai went wrong, Latifa said she spent seven years trying to flee a gilded prison and feared torture if captured.
Robinson faced intensive criticism on Thursday from rights campaigners, with one alleging she had been used as a willing pawn in the PR battle between the UAE ruling family and the rest of the world.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/27/mary-robinson-labelled-a-willing-pawn-of-uae-over-visit-with-princess