Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi woman ‘given refugee status’

• Posted on January 9, 2019
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

A Saudi woman who fled her family and refused to leave a Bangkok hotel has been declared a legitimate refugee by the UN, the Australian government says.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, 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 for renouncing Islam.

The UN’s refugee agency has referred her case to Australia for possible resettlement.

In a brief statement, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs said it would “consider this referral in the usual way”.

“The government will be making no further comment on this matter,” it said.

The UNHCR office in Thailand also declined to comment.

Ms Mohammed al-Qunun’s father and brother have arrived in Thailand but she is refusing to see them.

Thai immigration officials had initially said she should return to Kuwait, where her family were waiting.

Officials in Australia have hinted that her request will be accepted.

“If she is found to be a refugee, then we will give very, very, very serious consideration to a humanitarian visa,” health minister Greg Hunt told the ABC network the UN determination was made public.

Ms Mohammed a-Qunun shared dozens of live updates on her case on social media, attracting international attention.

Why did she claim asylum?

Renunciation of Islam is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. Ms Mohammed al-Qunun’s father is the governor of al-Sulaimi, a town in the northern Saudi province of Hail.

“My life is in danger,” she told the Reuters news agency. “My family threatens to kill me for the most trivial things.”

A spokesperson for her family told the BBC that they did not wish to comment and all they cared about was the young woman’s safety.

Campaign groups have expressed grave concerns for Ms Mohammed al-Qunun.

On Tuesday morning she retweeted her original appeal for asylum, pleading for the UK, Canada, the US or Australia to take her in.

A Saudi diplomat had reportedly seized her passport when she flew into Thailand from Kuwait on Saturday, planning to travel to Australia. On Tuesday she said it had been returned.

Source: BBC