Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson has said she made a "big mistake" and was "naive" in relation to the case of Emirati Princess Latifa Al Maktoum.
Speaking on RTÉ's Late Late Show, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said: "I made a mistake. I let my heart lead my head. I went to help a friend. I was naive. I should have been more alert."
Mrs Robinson had described Princess Latifa as a "troubled young woman" after she met her at a lunch on invitation from Dubai's royal family in 2018.
Earlier that year, Princess Latifa attempted to flee the country.
Recent footage shared with and published by BBC Panorama showed the princess appearing in a video where she said she was being held hostage by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ever since.
"Well that's all I can say and that's hurtful to me when I realise that I made a big mistake. I've made mistakes before and that's the biggest one. I hope I'll never be in that situation again," Mrs Robinson said.
She said she has been in touch with Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney about Princess Latifia.
"I've been in touch with Simon Coveney, and he has said we are on the [UN] Security Council now but even before that contact had been made with our ambassador in Geneva to support the High Commissioner," Mrs Robinson said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The former president said Princess Latifa needs political support, adding that she "100% believes Latifa now" and should be freed.
The family of Princess Latifa say she is "being cared for at home" and "will return to public life at the appropriate time", after her self-filmed video messages from her Middle Eastern "villa jail" prompted widespread concern for her safety.
Princess Latifa Al Maktoum has urged British police to re-investigate the disappearance of her older sister, Princess Shamsa whom she alleges was also captured by her father.
Mrs Robinson told the programme that she wants to know where Latifia's sister is also.
