Australia, on Tuesday, 8 January, said it will ‘carefully consider’ Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun's plea seeking asylum if she was found to be a refugee by the United Nations, The Guardian reported.
The 18-year-old, on Monday, explained her ordeal on Twitter after she was stopped by immigration officials at the Bangkok airport while en route to Australia, where she intended to seek asylum.
Alqunun claimed she was fleeing her family who had subjected her to physical and psychological abuse, and that she feared she would be killed if she was sent home to Saudi Arabia. Her family has not commented on the allegations, although her father is believed to have now arrived in Thailand, according to The Telegraph.
“Serious concerns on this matter and the need for Ms Alqunun’s claim to be assessed expeditiously have been made,” the Department of Home Affairs confirmed on Tuesday, The Guardian reported.
Amid reports of the Saudi woman’s visa being cancelled, Human Rights Watch earlier called on the Australian government to clarify the status of the visa, according to The Guardian.
“Whether someone holds a visitor visa does not have a bearing on this process,” a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said.
Alqunun was held in a secure location in Bangkok on Tuesday. According to a Saudi official from Ha’il province, it is not known if she met with her father, whose arrival she feared, as per The Telegraph.
A day after she live-streamed videos to send her panicked requests to meet with the UN, her account remained relatively quiet as she processed her asylum paperwork, reported The Telegraph.
Rahaf and her friends urged Canada, United States, Australia and United Kingdom to open doors for her.
So far, none of the countries she sought asylum from have made no public statements, but have praised the human rights officials for their commitment to the case, according to The Telegraph.
(With inputs from The Guardian and The Telegraph.)
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