“Not only is this a clear misuse of Robinson’s former office as UN high commissioner for human rights, it undermines the movement for the fair treatment of women”- David Haigh

There’s a saying in show business that you can spend 20 years becoming an overnight star. In politics, the same is true in reverse, as the sad case of Mary Robinson and Princess Latifa of Dubai shows.

In a world of Trump, Le Pen, Salvini, Bolsonaro and numerous others, the likes of Robinson have stood out as beacons of hope. To the world outside Ireland, she distinguished herself in her seven years as president and went on to serve five years as the UN high commissioner for human rights. As a young law student at Southampton University, she was someone I found inspiring.

The fact that she has now turned her efforts to fighting climate change Mary Robinson and Princess Latifa of Dubai – specifically the social justice that underpins fighting it – is also admirable. But in promoting her book Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience and the Fight for a Sustainable Future, she has waded into murky waters that have, at best, left serious questions about her links with friends in high places, and, at worst, tarnished her reputation as a global stateswoman that took 30 years to build.

Robinson got herself dragged into the case of Princess Latifa Al Maktoum, one of a couple of dozen offspring of Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai and second-most-powerful man in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and five of Latifa’s companions.

Ten months ago, Latifa enlisted my help as she made a daring escape from the gilded cage in which she felt imprisoned, recording a 40-minute video before she went in which she explained why she did not want to stay there. Her escape ended when she was kidnapped off the coast of India by crack UAE and Indian troops and taken back to Dubai, where she has been kept behind closed doors ever since.

After BBC2 screened a documentary about the kidnapping on 6 December, comparing it to the capture on the streets of Cambridge of Latifa’s older sister Shamsa in 2000, Dubai’s status as a destination of choice for European tourists was suddenly under threat. The UAE needed a PR offensive to put the world’s mind at rest.

That’s when Sheikh Mohammed’s wife, Princess Haya, appears to have contacted Robinson and asked her to come to Dubai and vouch that Latifa was safe and well. Robinson used the promotion of her book to justify the trip, and even claims to have given a copy to Latifa when they met over a well-supervised lunch in mid-December.

Since then Robinson has described Latifa as “vulnerable” and “troubled”, says she “regrets trying to escape” from Dubai and making the video, says she was in a “serious medical situation” but receiving psychiatric care, and is now “in the loving care of her family”.

This is shocking on two fronts. Firstly, what is a former UN human rights commissioner doing apparently providing cover for a regime that the UN has censured in numerous human rights reports and that has failed to respond to the UN body investigating the kidnap of Latifa and her five companions last March?

If it is the case, this is a clear misuse of her former office and undermines the work of the current UN human rights commissioner. Secondly, does Robinson seriously expect anyone to believe her, given that she is spouting almost word-for-word Dubai’s script about Latifa after a trip paid for by the very family Latifa was trying to escape from?

It’s actually worse than shocking. By assisting Dubai’s rulers, I believe Robinson has undermined the entire movement for fair treatment of women, including #MeToo. No-one can claim Latifa has grown up in poverty, but what’s clear is that her human rights have been violated over decades.

Robinson may feel she’s just doing the right thing, but as far as I’m concerned, she’s effectively thwarting the pursuit of justice and advancement of equality for millions of women across the Middle East and in the Gulf.

It may be that she didn’t know the full story about Latifa, but whose fault is that? Robinson never contacted me, Latifa’s barrister Toby Cadman or Detained as the princess’s representative or the other five who were attacked and kidnapped alongside Latifa; nor did she contact Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch who support our campaign.

I believe Robinson is interfering in a way that could have cost Latifa her life. Even now, the powers-that-be in Dubai may be abusing psychiatry to keep Latifa docile (as happened with her sister Shamsa).

There are two mildly mitigating factors in Robinson’s involvement. Firstly, she has at least brought us proof that Latifa is – or appears to be – still alive. Many of us had doubts following the kidnap, so that’s a small piece of good news if confirmed.

Secondly, is it possible Robinson was duped by an old friend in Princess Haya? Haya is a UN goodwill ambassador, and I wonder if she called on Robinson to help solve what Robinson described as “a family dilemma”. But if that’s the case, she was naïve, and the UN should investigate Haya for her involvement in the matter and strip her of her status.

And it begs the question: how many other people are denied their lives and rights, simply because someone knows someone who’s a friend of someone?

But the mishandling of the Robinson affair has backfired to such a degree it may actually help secure Latifa’s freedom. The world is now watching Dubai.

There will no doubt be another PR stunt, anything it seems but allowing Latifa and her sister their freedom.

How will Dubai and Latifa’s father glaze over a growing international scandal that could very well contribute to the downfall of his rule? Myself, along with Latifa’s best friend Tiina and the others campaigning for her release only hope the next headline we read is not “Latifa commits suicide”.

Robinson was rightly revered for her life’s work, and that work is not invalidated by her totally unacceptable interference in the case of Princess Latifa. But in my opinion, her reputation has been tarnished by this, and it will take a lot of explaining for her to undo the damage she has caused both herself and the cause of human rights.

Human rights should be sacrosanct, and not a commodity to be sold by former defenders of them, much in the same way that English law should not be sold by retired UK judges that prop up the UAE’s courts. Justice should be a basic right in a civilized world.

“Like Jamie, I was lured by promises of a cosmopolitan lifestyle in Dubai. Then a managing director for Leeds United, I had been involved in negotiations to acquire the football club from a UAE-based company. Then things quickly turned sour.”- David Haigh

As he heads home to Scotland, Jamie Harron will no doubt be feeling euphoric. Winning his freedom a day after being sentenced to three months in a Dubai jail, he will soon be reunited with family and friends. But it is in the days and weeks ahead that I anticipate he will need the most support, not only to make sense of the injustice he has experienced but to deal with the mental anguish and flashbacks that will inevitably come.

I know, because I have firsthand experience of the vindictive and unjust nature of Dubai’s weak legal system. It is a system rampant with corruption, bribery and nepotism, one that discriminates against westerners and especially Brits, and where the detention of a westerner and specifically, a Christian, seems to be some sort of macabre sport.

Yesterday, just before word came through that Jamie had been handed back his passport at a police station and told he could go, I was calling the German company that employed his accuser, a Dubai-based German businessman. I work with the prisoner advocacy service Detained in Dubai, run by lawyer and activist David Haigh, the man who claimed Jamie had touched him had withdrawn his complaint, UAE officials were, until today, pushing ahead with the prosecution and my hope was that they could step in again to help Jamie.

Then a managing director for Leeds United, I had been involved in negotiations to acquire the football club from a United Arab Emirates-based company. This had quickly turned sour and we were forced to initiate legal action against them for breach of contract.

In most other countries, this might simply be a legal dispute between two businesses. However, after I flew to Dubai for what I thought was a meeting to resolve outstanding issues, I was arrested and held on fraud and embezzlement criminal charges. Afterward, the same company filed a criminal complaint against me that I had abused them on Twitter while I was in jail. The case took six months and seven hearings before I was acquitted in March last year.

The only way to describe being in prison in Dubai is hell. I was held for 22 months and I’ll never forget it – the stench, the dirt, the smell, the heat, and the lack of any information whatsoever.

I was punched, Tasered, beaten and raped. The worst of this abuse was perpetrated by the prison guards and police.

I lost a lot of weight through stress. Once, when I asked for some painkillers, a guard hit me over the head with a broom handle. When someone’s beating you or hurting you in whatever form, in a weird way you can deal with that. What I found more harrowing was seeing them do it to other prisoners in front of everyone.

My first mistake was assuming was that I would find protection from the British Embassy in Dubai. I had also hoped to get support from some retired English judges who are employed by the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts. I wrote to them on many occasions requesting that my case be heard and pleading with them to help stop the torture and abuse. My complaints fell on deaf ears and I was completely ignored.

Dubai is not a safe place, despite its shiny exterior. Beneath lays a brutal and cold system that is ripe for exploitation by unscrupulous UAE businesses. Mine and Jamie’s are not the only cases. Each case follows a similar pattern: wealthy Emiratis taking advantage of weak laws and corruption, wrongfully extorting civil settlements and stifling any legal threat against them.  Dubai is effectively the world’s first corporate jail.

Of course, it is absolutely right that visitors should be respectful of the laws and customs of individual countries. However, punishment is handed out on the filmiest excuses. While I was in prison, I met hundreds of ex-pats who were imprisoned for things they didn’t know were illegal.

After the initial euphoria of coming back to the UK, I began getting intense flashbacks. That really started to affect me. At one point I was taking up to 15 pills a day for depression and sleeping problems in addition to morphine. I was like a zombie.

Thankfully for Jamie Harron, he has been freed on the special order of the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. I am convinced this decision was influenced by the worldwide outcry over Jamie’s treatment.  After all, the UAE has already been criticized for its role in boycotting Qatar, and it will not want to risk more bad publicity.

It’s fantastic news for Jamie, but what about the thousands of people who don’t get media attention?  If the judicial system is so flawed, why does the UAE not take steps to fix it permanently? My view is that it is because it perfectly suits local businesses to keep control of the police and judicial system.

During my ordeal, I was approached by numerous local lawyers who promised the world if I paid them, but vanished immediately afterward. Like Jamie, I quickly ran out of money. When I finally returned, I decided I couldn’t just sit and watch another person go through what had happened to me with no help.

The civil and criminal law advisory Haigh International Justice which David Haigh has launched helps those caught up in UAE’s legal system. Through our pro bono arm, Detained International, we aim to help those who cannot afford legal help by crowdfunding support to ensure they are legally represented, have funds to pay for court fees and have access to food and medicine. We are proud to have already helped a number of people gain their freedom.