The ex-wife of a Dubai royal has begged the woman bidding to become the world’s most senior diplomat to help her get her children back, in an emotional video released today by international human rights lawyer David Haigh, who represents her.
Zeynab Javadli’s video appeal to Lana Nusseibeh (2 minutes)
Zeynab Javadli, the former wife of Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a nephew of Dubai’s ruler, speaks directly to Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh “as a daughter, as a woman, and as a minister of the country where my children are”. She describes the night her home was attacked by armed men in black with their faces covered, how she was beaten and drugged, and how her daughters were taken from their beds, screaming and crying.
Accused of kidnapping her own children
Zeynab, an Azerbaijani former rhythmic gymnast who won world championship team bronze medals for Azerbaijan in 2007 and 2009, was released on police bail on 8 June 2026. She has been accused of kidnapping her own children, who had lived with her all their lives, and of cybercrime for the online posts in which she asked the world for help. She now faces criminal proceedings in Dubai. She is held in Dubai under a travel ban. In July the Dubai Execution Court ordered weekly supervised video calls with her daughters; not one has taken place.
The letters
On 27 October 2026 Zeynab and Mr Haigh each wrote privately to Ms Nusseibeh, who is on leave as Minister of State while she campaigns to lead the United Nations. On 3 November Mr Haigh wrote to her again, enclosing both letters. None of the three letters has received a reply. The two letters of 27 October, one from Zeynab and one from Mr Haigh, are published here with personal details removed.
Zeynab asks Ms Nusseibeh for three things: that her daughters be returned to her; that the accusations against her be properly heard or closed; and that the travel ban on her mother be lifted so that she can go to Zeynab’s father, who is seriously ill in Azerbaijan.
In her letter of 27 October, Zeynab reminded Ms Nusseibeh that Eleanor Roosevelt, who chaired the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, said that universal human rights begin in small places, close to home. “Three small girls in Dubai are as close to home as it gets,” she wrote.
In his letter of 27 October, David Haigh told Ms Nusseibeh that Zeynab has been told “time and again, that there is no law and no process for her, because her former husband is an influential member of the ruling family”. He wrote:
Under fire over Sudan
Ms Nusseibeh’s candidacy is already under scrutiny over Sudan. On 28 October Human Rights Watch said that as a UAE minister she had repeatedly denied UN findings linking the UAE to the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group accused of mass atrocities in Sudan’s civil war. Sudan’s mission to the United Nations has questioned her “independence, impartiality and credibility” (Middle East Eye). The UAE denies supporting the RSF.
Speaking today, David Haigh said: “Zeynab has not seen her three little girls since the night in June when her home in Dubai was stormed by around eighteen armed men from Dubai Police and Dubai State Security. She was drugged and taken to State Security, and she has not seen her children since. Now she is accused of kidnapping the daughters who have lived with her all their lives. She is not asking for favours. She is asking to see her children, and for a fair hearing.”
“I have been Zeynab’s lawyer and her friend for five years, and I have been with her every step of the way. I know what happened that night, and I know what came before it. I hold five years of evidence of the horrific abuse that she and her daughters have suffered at the hands of people in Dubai: documents, recordings and Zeynab’s own video diaries.”
“One phone call from Ms Nusseibeh could reunite these children with their mother. What is being done to Zeynab in Dubai is unfair, unjust and a clear abuse of her human rights. If Ms Nusseibeh will not make that call for Zeynab, the world is entitled to ask whether, as Secretary-General, she would ever stand up to human rights abuses, in her own country, the UAE, or anywhere else.”
Write to Lana Nusseibeh
Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh, Minister of State (on leave) and the UAE’s candidate for Secretary-General of the United Nations: info@lananusseibeh.org. Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, New York: NYUNPRM@mofaic.gov.ae.
Ask her to help return Zeynab’s daughters to her. Follow Zeynab on X at @zeynabjavadli and on Instagram at @zeynabismyname.
Zeynab’s full story and timeline: Say her name: Zeynab Javadli. All the press coverage of her case so far, from the BBC, the Daily Mail, The Times, Der Spiegel, The Independent, AFP and others, is linked here: Zeynab Javadli in the news.
Notes to editors
In 2022, after Zeynab complained to the United Nations, an arrangement approved by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, let her daughters live with her, in a home provided by the ruler’s office, with their visits to their father run by Dubai Police. It held for three years. Dubai Police and the Public Prosecution now deny that it existed.
Zeynab recorded the video herself and has consented to its release. The full video and stills are available for broadcast on request, and Zeynab may be available for interview, subject to her safety. David Haigh is a British international human rights lawyer who represents Zeynab. He advised Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum and co-founded the Free Latifa campaign. Media enquiries and interview requests: David Haigh, david@davidhaigh.co.uk, and press@dubaiwatch.org.