RTMon, 07 Jan 2019 16:24 UTC
© rahaf84427714 / TwitterRahaf Mohammed al-Qunun
A young Saudi woman has barricaded herself into a hotel in Thailand, saying that she has fled from abusive relatives and will be killed if sent back home. Her claims have caught the attention of human rights campaigners.
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, a Saudi national, says she intended to seek asylum in Australia but a representative from the Saudi Embassy seized her passport in Bangkok airport on Sunday.She has barricaded herself in a hotel room in the airport's transit zone out of fear that she will be deported to her home country. Thai immigration officials initially indicated that the woman would be sent back on Monday, but later clarified that she wouldn't be deported immediately, citing safety reasons.
"If deporting her would result in her death, we definitely wouldn't want to do that," immigration chief Surachet Hakparn
noted.
Al-Qunun's lawyers, meanwhile,
said that an injunction calling for deportation procedures to be blocked was rejected in court. The legal team is planning to appeal the decision.
In a video shared on social media, al-Qunun said that she will not leave the room until she has a meeting with UN officials.
The photos taken in her room show that she has barricaded the door with a table and mattresses.
The woman told human rights campaigners she had escaped from physical and psychological abuse that she suffers at the hands of her relatives. She managed to flee during her family's visit to Kuwait, which, unlike Saudi Arabia, doesn't require a male relative's approval for a woman to leave the country. Al-Qunun now fears that she will be jailed upon returning home or even killed.
"My family is strict and locked me in a room for six months just for cutting my hair," al-Qunun
told AFP.
"I'm sure 100 percent they will kill me as soon as I get out of the Saudi jail."
Human Rights Watch
appealed to Bangkok to halt the woman's planned deportation. The organization's Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson blasted the Thai authorities for their "heartless lack of concern" for al-Qunun's wellbeing.
The woman's pleas also caught the attention of Georg Schmidt, the German ambassador to the nation. He
wrote that he would stay "in touch" with local officials concerning al-Qunun's fate.
Comment:
UPDATE:
Alqunun has left the airport under the care of the UN after Thai authorities allowed her into the country while the UNHCR processes her case and arranges for her to travel to another country. It is expected to take about five days to find a country to accept her. She will be under care of the UN during the transition and Thai authorities will also provide additional security to guarantee her safety and plan to hold talks with the Saudi Embassy regarding her situation.
UPDATE 2: Australia considers granting Ms. Algunun a
visa:
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, the first Australian MP to call for Australia to provide refuge to Ms al-Qunun, said it was "time to bring this courageous young woman to Australia to start her life as a free woman".
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told reporters on Wednesday - before the referral was confirmed - that Australia would consider any referrals from the UN but Ms al-Qunun would not receive any "special treatment".
"Australia is a signatory to the convention and to the protocols, as you know, and we will work with the UN, but there is no special treatment in this case," Mr Dutton said.
"The case will be assessed by the United Nations and ... it doesn't therefore make it different to any other case of that nature."
Update (Jan 9): The Australian gov't has
announced that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees granted refugee status to the young woman. She has been referred to Australia for resettlement and "will not receive special treatment", according to Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton.
Comment:
UPDATE: Alqunun has left the airport under the care of the UN after Thai authorities allowed her into the country while the UNHCR processes her case and arranges for her to travel to another country. It is expected to take about five days to find a country to accept her. She will be under care of the UN during the transition and Thai authorities will also provide additional security to guarantee her safety and plan to hold talks with the Saudi Embassy regarding her situation.
UPDATE 2: Australia considers granting Ms. Algunun a visa: Update (Jan 9): The Australian gov't has announced that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees granted refugee status to the young woman. She has been referred to Australia for resettlement and "will not receive special treatment", according to Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton.