Ex-wife of a Dubai prince in tears after losing custody: “They will break down the door of my house, arrest me and take my children”
The ex-wife of a Dubai prince says she is living in terror after a court ruled she lost custody of her three daughters. The woman claims that the police could break into her home to enforce the court decision.
In an emotional video message sent through her British lawyer, David Haigh, Zeynab Javadli said the Dubai courts had ordered the girls to be returned to their father, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and police could use “coercive force” to enforce the decision, writes the dailymail.
The woman, a 34-year-old former international gymnast, filmed people she says are police outside her home, ready to intervene.
“I'm getting messages from the UAE about bomb alerts and that I need to seek shelter or stay indoors for safety. At the same time, the Dubai courts are sending me notices asking me to hand over the children or the police will break down the door of the house, arrest me and take my children,” she said, through tears.
The woman divorced the prince of Dubai Photo: capture daily mail
At another point in the recording, she states: “That's my day today. I'm standing at the window, watching and waiting for him to attack me at any moment.”
According to the court order, Zeynab Javadli is required to “return custody of minors” to Sheikh Saeed, again “coercive force may be used if necessary.”
But Javadli claims that a previous legal agreement with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and her ex-husband's uncle, gave her the right to retain custody of the girls.
Court documents, made public last November, show the woman accused Sheikh Saeed, a 49-year-old businessman and former Olympic shooter, of endangering their daughters.
According to the charges, he allegedly left them unsupervised, used inappropriate language, deprived them of sleep and drove recklessly in their presence.
Sheikh Saeed, on the other hand, claimed in court that his ex-wife had refused to comply with previous court orders and was trying to keep the girls away from him to “inculcates Western behavior that does not suit Muslims, UAE nationals and, in particular, members of the ruling family”.
Lawyer David Haigh said his client had been living in a state of constant fear for months.
“Zeynab has been virtually held captive in her own home since last November, too scared to go out for fear of arrest on warrants and travel bans“, he said.
