Less than a week later, she went silent and, in December, her family released photos of her back at home. Her mysterious case has since become a stain on Dubai’s globalized image.

Background: In a secret video she recorded before her planned departure from Dubai, Sheikha Latifa described her life of constricting privilege.

She said she first tried to escape the kingdom many years ago but was taken back immediately and held in solitary confinement for more than three years in which she was frequently beaten and deprived of medical care.

At 19, when she was released, she still wasn’t free: She could spend her money only on hobbies and sports. She wasn’t allowed to study medicine, as she wanted, or travel.

Analysis: Like the accounts of women who have tried to escape Saudi Arabia, Sheikha Latifa’s case has marred Dubai’s glittering image, reminding the world of the few freedoms women have there, regardless of status or nationality.

In other news from the region: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia said in 2017, the year before the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Turkey, that he would use “a bullet” on Mr. Khashoggi, according to current and former American and foreign officials with direct knowledge of intelligence reports.