Lawyers for Zainab Gawadli, the ex-wife of Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, a member of the Dubai royal family, on Tuesday submitted a request to the United Nations Human Rights Council to intervene in the custody battle of their daughters.
The request suggests that the UAE authorities intervene, claiming that Gawadli was subjected to violations, harassment and intimidation from her ex-husband. The sheikh’s lawyers said she was “indecent”, which she denied.
This is the latest case in Dubai that reveals differences within the ruling family. In a video obtained by the BBC, Javadli asks for help and claims that she and her daughters fear for their lives and safety.
“We are virtually homeless and trapped in a hotel in Dubai. My daughters cannot leave for fear of being arrested and taken away from me,” Javadli said.
The 31-year-old former international gymnast from Azerbaijan has been in Dubai since her divorce in late 2019 with her three young daughters. She fears that if she leaves the country, she will never be able to see them again, and for nearly three years of a custody battle with her ex-husband, she is locked up in a hotel.
The two married in 2015 and lived in Dubai, where Sheikh Saeed belongs to the ruling family – he is the nephew of the ruler of Dubai, Prince Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also went through a hateful divorce.
Their lawyers in the UK claimed, in their request for UN intervention, that their freedom of movement and expression had been restricted. The appeal alleges that Javadli, her children and her parents were assaulted and assaulted when Dubai Police raided their home two years ago. She broadcast the event on social media, attracting worldwide attention. His parents have already returned to Azerbaijan.
Over the past three years, she says, police raids of her home, court summons and arrest warrants have become routine.
The 50-page document also claims that his case was not dealt with impartially, claiming custody was granted to Saeed without due process of law. The sheikh’s lawyers claim before a Dubai court that she does not send her daughters to school, lives in an unsuitable place for children and puts the health of the youngest girl at risk. Javadli dismissed the accusations and presented evidence in court.
She is currently in confrontation with the Dubai authorities because she keeps her daughters with her instead of sending them to school, fearing that they will never return. The school asked her to attend a meeting to discuss the situation, but her lawyers believe the order to grant custody of the children to Sheikh Saeed can be executed at any time, including when they go to school.
The Javadli case fits well with the pattern of treatment of former wives of members of the ruling family. Princess Haya, the ex-wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, fled the UAE in 2019, saying she feared for her life. Earlier this year, the princess won a fight at the UK’s highest court, which granted her sole custody of her two children.
Prior to this, Princess Latifa, the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed, claimed that she suffers under the coercive control of her family. She tried to flee the country in 2018 on a boat, but the ship was intercepted in the Indian Ocean and forcibly returned to Dubai. She has since claimed that she is being held in secret videos, but has recently resurfaced in public, saying that she is fine and living as she pleases.
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