Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi woman pleads for asylum

An 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled her family at the weekend has reiterated her plea for asylum in Canada, the United States, Australia or the UK.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun refused to board a flight from Bangkok to Kuwait on Monday and barricaded herself into her airport hotel room.
She said she feared her family would kill her as she had renounced Islam and is under the care of the UN in Bangkok.
Renunciation, known as apostasy, is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
Thai immigration officials had said that she should return to Kuwait, where her family is.

Ms Mohammed al-Qunun captured the attention of social media users around the world by live tweeting every twist and turn to her case. Her brand new Twitter account attracted 50,000 followers in a day and a half.
On Tuesday morning she retweeted her original plea for asylum, adding in a subsequent tweet: "I want Canada to give me asylum."

Mr Surachate said he would meet Saudi diplomats to clarify Thailand's decision.
Ms Mohammed al-Qunun tweeted that her father had arrived, "which worried and scared me a lot", but said she felt safe "under UNHCR protection with the agreement of Thailand authorities".   

 

Thailand's immigration chief told Reuters news agency that any meeting between them would have to be approved by the UN.

Thailand is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and provides no legal protection to asylum seekers, although there are more than 100,000 refugees in the country.

• Saudi Arabia's enduring guardianship system

An injunction filed by Thai lawyers in Bangkok criminal court to stop the deportation was dismissed earlier on Monday.