Refugees 19/01/07 Saudi teen dodges Thai deportation bid - Al-Qunun reportedly still in Bangkok despite attempt to force her onto flight to Kuwait as German em

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Saudi teen dodges Thai deportation bid

Al-Qunun reportedly still in Bangkok despite attempt to force her onto flight to Kuwait as German embassy, HRW intervene

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, says she is fleeing domestic abuse and fears for her safety if forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia. (Photo supplied)

ucanews.com reporter, Bangkok
Thailand
January 7, 2019

A Saudi teenager being held at a Thai airport while seeking refugee status overseas narrowly escaped being sent back to the Middle East on Monday morning, according to tweets from Human Rights Watch, a close friend, and other parties. Rahaf Mohammed Al-Qunun has been seeking asylum in various countries due to fears her family would torture or even kill her for renouncing Islam, a Sydney-based friend of the woman told Britain's The Guardian. Al-Qunun was transiting to Australia when she was stopped in Bangkok. The same friend told the British media earlier that Thai authorities were planning to have the 18-year-old board a Kuwait Airways flight to Kuwait at 11.15am (Thai time) on Monday. Al-Qunun was holidaying with family in Kuwait several days earlier when she made her daring escape bid, according to reports. Just hours before the Kuwait-bound plane was due to take off on Monday, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), tweeted that Rahaf had barricaded herself in her hotel room and that reports of her being deported were false. The narrative changed quickly in the next few hours. Tweets from other parties, including from ABC's Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill (@Sophiemcneill), claimed Al-Qunun had been forced from her hotel room against her will shortly after 6.a.m. and was later "dragged" onto the plane by airline staff. McNeil later tweeted Al-Qunun was safe. 

Robertson (@Reaproy) posted another tweet on his Twitter account around noon (Thai time) claiming the flight had left without Al-Qunun. He also praised the German embassy for intervening on her behalf. "Kuwait Air flight KU412 has now departed #Bangkok without #Rahaf on board, so this is an important victory for her, & a real tribute to her courage. She is demanding #UNHCR be allowed to see her, but #so far Thailand is not agreeing to that," he tweeted. A few hours earlier he had posted a message of thanks on the same social media site: "Thank you to the #German Embassy & government for standing up to #SaveRahaf and demanding that #Thailand not send her back to her family in #SaudiArabia."

Robertson (@Reaproy) posted another tweet on his Twitter account around noon (Thai time) claiming the flight had left without Al-Qunun. He also praised the German embassy for intervening on her behalf. "Kuwait Air flight KU412 has now departed #Bangkok without #Rahaf on board, so this is an important victory for her, & a real tribute to her courage. She is demanding #UNHCR be allowed to see her, but #so far Thailand is not agreeing to that," he tweeted. A few hours earlier he had posted a message of thanks on the same social media site: "Thank you to the #German Embassy & government for standing up to #SaveRahaf and demanding that #Thailand not send her back to her family in #SaudiArabia."

He is still being detained in the country while Bahrain seeks his extradition over a discredited vandalism conviction.