Dubai royal’s ex-wife asks the UN for support in a custody dispute

• The former wife of a member of Dubai’s royal family has asked the UN Human Rights Council for help, according to her attorneys.
• She and her ex-husband have been engaged in a custody dispute for almost three years.
• She is currently in a standoff with the Dubai authorities, refusing to send her kids to school out of fear that they would be taken away from her and never seen again.

The former wife of a member of Dubai’s royal family has asked the UN Human Rights Council for help, according to her attorneys.

They want the council to speak with UAE officials and take action to protect Zeynab Javadli and her children.

In the course of a contentious custody dispute with Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the request alleges that Ms Javadli has been subjected to abuse, harassment, and intimidation by government officials.

Ms Javadli has refuted claims made by his attorneys that she is an unfit mother. This case in Dubai is the most recent to highlight divisions within the royal family.

In a video that the news has obtained exclusively, Ms Javadli begs for assistance. “My kids and I are horrified and afraid for our lives and safety,” the mother said.

With my children unable to go without fear that I would be imprisoned and have my children stolen from me, we are basically homeless and trapped in a hotel in Dubai.

The 31-year-old former Azerbaijani international gymnast is speaking from Dubai, where she has resided since divorcing Sheikh Saeed at the end of 2019. She worried that if she left the nation, she might never see her three small girls again, so she stayed there.

She and her ex-husband have been engaged in a custody dispute for almost three years.

In 2015, the couple tied the knot. They resided in Dubai, where Sheikh Saeed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s nephew, is a member of the ruling family.

Her UK-based attorneys contend that she has been subjected to intimidation methods and that her freedom of speech and mobility have both been curtailed in their request for the UN Human Rights Council’s involvement.

According to the plea, Ms Javadli, her kids, and her parents were attacked and abused two years ago when Dubai police broke into their home. The ceremony was live-streamed by Ms Javadli, garnering attention across the globe. Since then, her parents have travelled back to Azerbaijan.

She claims that over the past three years, police raids on her home, court summonses, and arrest warrants have all become regular occurrences in her life.

The 50-page paper asserts that Sheikh Saeed’s custody was given without following the proper procedures and that her case was not treated impartially.

It asserts that Ms Javadli was subjected to an “overtly unfair, prejudiced, and discriminatory judicial process.” It claims that the one court ruling in her favour was altered “without reasonable justification” soon after it was handed down.

Sheikh Saeed’s attorneys have argued in court in Dubai that Ms Javadli is an unfit mother who has neglected to enrol her daughters in school, lives in an unsuitable location for the kids, and has jeopardised the youngest girl’s health.

She is currently in a standoff with the Dubai authorities, refusing to send her kids to school out of fear that they would be taken away from her and never seen again.

She has been invited to join a meeting to discuss the problem with the school.

Despite the fact that she has filed another appeal against the ruling, she and her attorneys expect Sheikh Saeed’s custody of the children will soon be enforced.

Another person with knowledge of Dubai’s legal system claims that what Zeynab Javadli has detailed fits the pattern of earlier cases involving ex-wives or other members of the ruling family.

The former spouse of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Princess Haya, left the UAE in 2019 and claimed she feared for her life. The princess gained exclusive custody of their two children earlier this year after winning a custody dispute heard by the UK’s top court.

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