Saudi teenager flies to Canada to take up asylum: Thai police
BANGKOK: A Saudi teenager who fled alleged abuse by her family left Bangkok on Friday night to fly to Canada to take up an offer of asylum, Thailand’s immigration police chief said.
Rahaf al-qunun, 18, took a flight to Seoul, with the final destination of Toronto, said police chief Surachate Hakparn.
Several countries, including Canada and Australia, had been in talks with the UN’S refugee agency to accept Rahaf, he said earlier in the day.
Canada’s ambassador had seen her off at the airport, Surachate said, adding that she looked “happy and healthy”.
“She chose Canada. It’s her personal decision,” he said.
She thanked everyone for helping her, he said, and added that the first thing she would do upon arrival in Canada would be to start learning the language. She already speaks more than passable English in addition to Arabic.
A spokesman for Canada’s foreign minister did not immediately confirm she was headed to Canada.
Rahaf’s case has highlighted the cause of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Several Saudis fleeing abuse by their families have been caught trying to seek asylum abroad in recent years and returned home.
Rahaf was stopped on January 5 at a Bangkok airport by immigration police who denied her entry and seized her passport.
She barricaded herself in an airport hotel room and launched a social media campaign that drew global attention.