Saudi woman refuses to meet her father
PHOTO: Immigration chief Surachate Hakparn and other senior immigration police officers meet Saudi Arabia’s charge d’affaires in Bangkok.
The 18 year old Saudi young woman who fled her family in Saudi Arabia has refused to meet her father. The father, who flew in today and is taking the evening flight back to Riyadh, met with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) officials to give his side of the story.
The announcement was made by Immigration chief Surachate Hakparn later this afternoon.
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s problems have caught worldwide attention after she fled her family during a Kuwait visit and ended up being detained in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. She was apparently on her way to Australia, where she intended to seek asylum.
The young woman is accusing her family of physical and psychological abuse.
It is still unclear why the woman was detained in Bangkok with Thai and Saudi providing conflicting reports that also differ from the young woman’s story.
Earlier reports claimed al-Qunun’s father had asked the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Bangkok to detain her, while another said that she had no ticket to Australia.
She later barricaded herself in the room she was being detained and used Twitter to plea for help, saying she would be killed if she were deported to Saudi Arabia.
She also demanded to meet UNHCR officials.
Her demands were met, when the authorities handed her over to UNHCR on Monday.
