Updated
An 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled her family saying she feared for her life has been granted asylum in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, as Thai officials confirmed the teen was en route to Toronto.
Key points:
- Ms Alqunun arrived in Bangkok on Saturday and was initially denied entry
- Ms Alqunun’s resettlement in Canada came as a surprise to Australian officials, who were processing her application
- But there were growing fears over her security as she remained in Bangkok, so she was taken to the Canadian embassy
Mr Trudeau said United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had asked Canada to take in Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, who grabbed international attention this week after she barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to resist being sent home to her family, which denies any abuse.
“Canada is a country that understands how important it is to stand up for human rights, to stand up for women’s rights around the world, and I can confirm that we have accepted the UN’s request,” he told reporters.
The decision is likely to exacerbate Canada’s already poor relations with Saudi Arabia, which last year barred the Canadian ambassador to Riyadh after Ottawa criticised Saudi authorities for detaining women’s rights activists.
A Korean Air flight carrying Ms Alqunun left Bangkok at 11:37pm local time, a Thai airport official said.
Thailand’s immigration chief Surachate Hakparn told reporters it was Ms Alqunun’s wish to go to Canada.
“She still refuses to meet with her father and brother, and they are going to be travelling back tonight as well … they are disappointed.”
Ms Alqunun arrived in Bangkok on her way to Australia after fleeing her family in Kuwait, claiming she had renounced Islam and that her family would kill her if she returned home.
Within hours, a campaign sprang up dubbed #SaveRahaf, spread on Twitter by a loose network of activists.
Following a tense 48-hour stand-off at Bangkok airport, some of it barricaded in a transit lounge hotel room, she was allowed to enter the country and has been processed as a refugee by the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Ms Alqunun has accused her family of abuse, and has refused to meet her father and brother who arrived in Bangkok to try take her back to Saudi Arabia.
Her case has drawn global attention to Saudi Arabia’s strict social rules, including a requirement that women have the permission of a male “guardian” to travel, which rights groups say can trap women and girls as prisoners of abusive families.
Mr Trudeau brushed off a question as to whether Canada’s move might make it harder to repair ties with Saudi Arabia.
“Canada has been unequivocal that we will always stand up for human rights and women’s rights around the world,” he said.
Australia said on Wednesday that it was considering taking in Ms Alqunun, and her resettlement in Canada came as a surprise to Australian officials.
Australia had been processing the application of the young refugee.
Ms Alqunun went to the Australian embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday and completed the visa application.
But Australian officials confirmed to the ABC that her case was still being processed as of late Friday.
Meanwhile, there was growing concern within the UNHCR over Ms Alqunun’s security as she remained in Bangkok.
With these security fears in mind, she was taken to the Canadian embassy in Bangkok on Friday morning. Her visa was processed within several hours and she was booked on a flight to Canada in the afternoon.
Ms Alqunun, while being overjoyed at being safe and headed to a third country, had still hoped to come to Australia where her close friends are.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to comment on Ms Alqunun’s Canadian resettlement to the ABC.
Ms Alqunun’s flight has emerged at a time when Riyadh is facing unusually intense scrutiny from its Western allies over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October and over the humanitarian consequences of it’s war in Yemen.
ABC/Reuters
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