Fearing death, Saudi teen requests Thai govt to stall deportation process

An 18-year-old woman Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, who fled from Kuwait to seek asylum elsewhere, has appealed to the government of Thailand to stall her deportation to Kuwait.

The teenager accused her family of being abusive, and therefore, hoped to seek asylum in Australia.

"I ask the government of Thailand according to the non-refoulement principle to stop my deportation to Kuwait. I ask the police in Thailand to start my asylum process according to the non-refoulement principle," she tweeted.

As per a New York Times article, Alqunun boarded a plane to Thailand while her family was on a holiday in Kuwait. Upon arriving in Thailand, she claimed that her passport was taken away by a man at the airport on the pretext of getting her a Thai visa. However, the man did not show up, she said.

Furthermore, the 18-year-old alleged that the man who took away her passport came with other men who she believes were Thai security officers and a representative of Kuwait Airlines. The men reportedly told Alqunun that her family had filed a missing person report about her and informed her that she had to return to Kuwait on a flight late Monday morning.

Rahaf also clarified that she did not run away from home in order to escape her marriage.

"It is not true that I escaped because of forced marriage, this never happened. I think my family has no good lies. I explained my reasons and my story to foreign newspapers," read another tweet.