Meet the Emirati princess behind the extradition of Christian Michel

NEW DELHI: A few days ago, Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the VVIP chopper scam case, was brought to India in a special jet owned by the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) as he was extradited from Dubai.

It is being considered a big political victory of the Narendra Modi government because Michel is supposed to have links with the Congress politicians.

The whole operation was being supervised by India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. However, another very unlikely person played an unwitting role in Michel's extradition — Sheikha Latifa, the daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. She was reportedly handed over to Dubai Royal family in quid pro quo for the alleged middleman.


How did Indian government get hold of Princess Latifa?
Latifa's story is the stuff James Bond films are made of, with one very Bond-like character too — a former French spy HJP Jaubert. Earlier this year, the princess apparently crossed into Oman and boarded a boat to meet Jaubert, who was to take her to Goa from where she planned to fly to the US. Jaubert had himself managed to successfully escape the Emirates in 2010. Both of them were said to have been captured by Indian security forces off the coast of Goa and the princess handed over to UAE. Both India and UAE have denied this.

The princess had claimed that she was being kept against her will by her family and facing torture. She released a YouTube video of herself in March announcing she was about to flee to claim her life and freedom. “I’m making this video because it could be the last video I make,” she said. “Pretty soon I’m going to be leaving somehow and I’m not so sure of the outcome, but I’m 99% positive it will work. And, if it doesn’t, then this video can help me because all my father cares about is his reputation,” she said.

A few days ago, the government of Dubai said that Latifa was back home safely and celebrated her birthday with family. "We are aware and deeply saddened by the continued media speculation regarding Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al Maktoum. This private family matter has caused significant upset and distress for all concerned, most of all Sheikha Latifa," a statement by the royal court said. The court also accused Jaubert of her kidnap and claimed that he had taken her against her will and then demanded a $100-million ransom for her return.

The sporty princess is a keen horse rider, and has competed professionally with quite a lot of success. She has competed at the World Equestrian Games, and won medals at the Asian Games in 2006 and 2010. In an interview with Sport360 in 2012, she said her proudest achievement to date had been qualifying for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. She is also a skydiving enthusiast.

Amnesty International has accused both the UAE and India of violating international human rights laws in the Latifa case.

PM Modi has developed close ties with the UAE where he has visited twice. In February this year, he laid the foundation for the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. Both the countries have bolstered cooperation in areas like defence, finance, investments, counter-terrorism, space technology, infrastructure and skills development.

India has signed an initial agreement to let Abu Dhabi National Oil Company explore storing crude oil at the emergency reserve in Karnataka. India will have the right over 65 per cent of 6 million barrels of crude oil stored there. Indian oil companies have bought a stake in one of Abu Dhabi’s biggest offshore oil concessions, securing a share in the emirate’s crude production for the first time.

The UAE has extradited a number of Indian fugitives including a few hard-core terrorists in the past few years.