London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 19, 2025

Abductions, hacking and horses: the Dubai royals' UK custody battle

The High Court in London has ruled that the ruler of Dubai's ex-wife should have sole responsibility for their children's welfare, citing his "domestic abuse" towards her.
The decision marks the end of a three-year custody battle between Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and Jordan's Princess Haya. L5N2VI22V

Here is a timeline of the main events connected with the case, based on statements by lawyers and findings made in the English courts.

June 2000 - Sheikha Shamsa, daughter of Mohammed and his Algerian wife Huriah Ahmed al M'aash, flees from her family while on holiday in England. Two months later she is abducted from the streets of Cambridge and taken back to Dubai.

Mohammed al-Shaibani, Director-General of the Ruler's Court in Dubai, was closely involved, according to one High Court judgement.

April 2004 - Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai and vice president of the United Arab Emirates, marries Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, half sister of Jordanian King Abdullah. They go on to have two children, Jalila and Zayed.

March 4, 2018 - Sheikha Latifa, Shamsa's younger sister who tried to run away from her family in 2002, attempts to escape again. Armed Indian coast guards board the boat she was on 20 miles off the coast of India in international waters. Those on board are taken to Dubai.

It was her second escape attempt, having been detained for three years after her first failed effort in 2002.

April 15, 2019 - Haya, who had begun an affair with her British bodyguard at some stage in 2017 or 2018, flees Dubai with her two children, having become fearful for her life.

She later discovers that Mohammed had divorced her under sharia law on Feb. 7, the 20th anniversary of the death of her father, King Hussein.

Meanwhile, she pays out 6.7 million pounds to four members of her security team who blackmailed her over the affair.

May 14, 2019 - Mohammed begins legal action at the High Court in London seeking to have the children returned to Dubai.

March 2020 - After a series of hearings held in private, reporting restrictions are lifted to reveal that senior judge Andrew McFarlane had ruled that he accepted as proved a series of allegations made by Haya.

These included that Mohammed was responsible for the abductions of Shamsa and Latifa, and they remained deprived of their liberty. The judge also concluded the sheikh had subjected his ex-wife to a campaign of intimidation which put her in fear for her life.

July 2020 - Agents working for Mohammed exploit a vulnerability in Apple's iPhone to use the Pegasus software made by Israel's NSO Group to hack the phones of Haya, her British lawyers Fiona Shackleton and Nick Manners, her personal assistant and two of her security team.

Aug. 5, 2020 - Shackleton is notified by another lawyer that their phones might have been hacked. The same day, Shackleton receives an urgent call from human rights lawyer Cherie Blair, an adviser to the NSO and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, warning her that her phone might have been hacked.

May 5, 2021 - McFarlane rules that it was "more probable than not" the sheikh was responsible for the hacking.

June 2021 - A statement issued by Latifa through lawyers says she is now free to travel, after pictures of her abroad and in a shopping mall in Dubai are published on social media. Two months later, a campaign group which had been working to secure her release from Dubai said it was ending its work.

Oct. 2021 - McFarlane's hacking judgement is made public. It is revealed NSO had cancelled its contract with the United Arab Emirates as a result.

He also says those working for Mohammed also tried to buy a mansion next door and overlooking Haya's estate near the British capital to intimidate her.

London police said they had carried out a five-month investigation into the hacking but had closed this in February due to a lack of "further investigative opportunities".

Dec. 21, 2021 - The High Court in London orders Mohammed to pay 251.5 million pounds to Haya and provide a 290 million pound bank guarantee to settle the custody battle over their children.

March 24, 2022 - McFarlane's final welfare judgement is published. He says Haya should have sole responsibility for the children's medical care and schooling.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
×