Fears over father’s arrival

BANGKOK: The father of an 18yearold Saudi woman asylum seeker who fled to Thailand saying she feared her family would kill her, has arrived in Bangkok and wished to meet his daughter, Thailand’s immigration chief said yesterday.

But Rahaf Mohammed alQunun’s father and brother would have to wait and see whether the UN refugee agency would allow them to see her, immigration chief Surachate Hakpan said.

The UN refugee agency said yesterday it was investigating Qunun’s case after she fled to Thailand saying she feared her family would kill her if she were sent back to Saudi Arabia.

Activists are concerned about what Saudi Arabia will do after Thai authorities reversed a decision to expel her and allowed Qunun to enter the country under the care of the UNHCR.

‘‘The father is now here in Thailand and that’s a source of concern,’’ Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia Phil Robertson said.

‘‘We have no idea what he is going to do . . . whether he will try to find out where she is and go harass her.’’

Lawmakers and activists in Australia and Britain urged their governments to grant asylum to Qunun, who was finally allowed by Thailand to enter the country late on Monday, after nearly 48 hours stranded at Bangkok airport under threat of being expelled.

The UNHCR is processing her application for refugee status, before she can seek asylum in a third country.