The head of Thailand’s immigration police said Monday that a young Saudi woman who was stopped in Bangkok as she was trying to travel to Australia for asylum to escape alleged abuse by her family would not be sent anywhere against her wishes, according to AP NEWS.
This was after Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun barricaded herself in an airport hotel room while sending out desperate pleas for help over social media. Her home is in Kuwait, and Thai authorities were preparing to send her back.
ALLEGES ABUSE, FEARS MURDER
In one of her tweets, she wrote: “I escaped an abusive #Family. They locked me in a room for six months for cutting my hair. I’m an #Atheist. This is my only chance to escape”.
The 18-year-old began posting on Twitter late Saturday after her passport was taken away when she arrived in Bangkok on a flight from Kuwait. She has been appealing for aid from the United Nations refugee agency, known as UNHCR, and anyone else who can help.
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“I’m not leaving my room until I see UNHCR. I want asylum,” she said in a video posted to Twitter.
She is now safe
The U.N. refugee service said, “she is safe”.
I just received those, hope things are going in the right direction#RahafMohamed#rahafmohammed#SaveRahaf#RahafAlQanun#RahafMohammedalQunun pic.twitter.com/6bTqd9vl6M
— Bob A (@damitBob) January 7, 2019
They were going to send her home to her family and possible death, but they reversed their decision according to some reports.
UPDATE: Standoff at Suvarnabhumi – Thai Immigration reverse decision – more at https://t.co/aMOrwcehWg #Thailand
Speaking at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport where Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun is refusing to board a flight back to her family that she fled in Saudi Arabi, Lt. … pic.twitter.com/DdHCW8rwCv— The Thaiger (@ThaigerNews) January 7, 2019
THE FLIGHT FROM KUWAIT, HER ONLY CHANCE TO FLEE
Her planned forced departure Monday morning was averted as she stayed in her room, with furniture piled up against the door, photos she posted online showed.
She’s not the first to use social media to escape the bondage of a fascist Islamic family. Rahaf claims they will kill her if she returns home because she rejected Islam.
All of you feminists are going to support her right? You are going to come to her aid any minute now!
Twitter Header: #RahafMohammedalQunun @Rahaf84427714
Saudi Arabian teenage girl seeking refuge because her parents will kill her for renouncing Islam.#SaveRahaf #فتاه_تايلند pic.twitter.com/IUaTs7tccP— Natasha Fatah🏹 (@NatashaFatah) January 7, 2019
Thai authorities say Saudi teen Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun will not be sent anywhere against her wishes https://t.co/UnAKexmetw pic.twitter.com/yEdE2Mgh6r
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) January 7, 2019
HER VIDEO
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