mrmicbkktxl Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 3 minutes ago, webfact said: Rights group urges Thailand not to return Saudi woman fleeing family By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Ghaida Ghantous Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, a Saudi woman who claims to be fleeing her country and family and is currently in Bangkok, Thailand, is shown in this undated photo obtained by Reuters from social media. @rahaf84427714/via REUTERS BANGKOK/DUBAI (Reuters) - A human rights group urged Thai authorities on Monday to halt plans to deport an 18-year-old Saudi woman who says she is fleeing abuse from her family and fears they will kill her if she is returned home. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun said she fled Kuwait while her family was visiting the Gulf country and had planned to travel on from Thailand to Australia to seek asylum. She said she was detained after leaving her plane in Bangkok and told she would be sent back to Kuwait. She was scheduled to be sent back on Kuwait Airways flight 412 leaving at 11:15 a.m. local time (0415 GMT). "My brothers and family and the Saudi embassy will be waiting for me in Kuwait," Qunun told Reuters by text and voice message from a Bangkok transit hotel late on Sunday. "They will kill me," she said. "My life is in danger. My family threatens to kill me for the most trivial things." Thai immigration authorities denied Qunun's allegations they were acting at the behest of the Saudi government, saying she was refused entry to Thailand on Saturday night because she did not have the proper documents for a visa on arrival. A representative from the Saudi embassy in Thailand said there was no one available to comment. New York-based Human Rights Watch said Thailand should not send Qunun back to her family because she is an adult who faces danger. "Thai authorities should immediately halt any deportation, and either allow her to continue her travel to Australia or permit her to remain in Thailand to seek protection as a refugee," Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Monday. Qunun said she had obtained an Australian visa and booked a flight. She said she planned to spend a few days inThailand, a popular destination for medical treatment, so she would not spark suspicion when she left Kuwait. "When I landed at the airport, someone came and said he would process the (Thai) visa but he took my passport. He came back with what seemed to be airport security and said that my parents objected and said I must return to Saudi Arabia via Kuwait Airways," she said. She said she believed she was stopped after her family appealed to Kuwait Airways. A spokesman for Kuwait Airways said he had no information about the case. Thai immigration chief Surachate Hakparn said he had had no contact with Saudi officials or Thailand's foreign minister before Qunun's arrival. He said she was denied entry because she did not have a paid return ticket or a hotel reservation. "She was over-exaggerating ... She fled her family from Saudi Arabia and arrived in Thailand but she didn't have necessary documents to enter. Thai immigration had to deny her entry," he said, describing such cases as standard procedure. (Additional reporting by Ghaida Ghantous in DUBAI; Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Paul Tait) -- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-07 Why she should want to enter thailand if she has a ticket to Australia? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TMNH Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 1 minute ago, TMNH said: And Thailand is the best welfare system? LOL...You sir are delirious and obviously missed the point. Don't worry....there's always time to change:) Perhaps you have "enough" cerebral capacity to understand just how repressive the society is to warrant an "escape". Just like the supposed "caravan" escaping violence in Central America, people take the extreme measure to escape violence and religious consternation. So screw you India BTW. Your hypocrisy (where you rape women) is astounding according to your BS religious tenets. And so....I'd hate to think that this poster would ever imagine or experience a similar situation to warrant getting the hell out of there.. The word is empathy anchadian...and if you're not capable of such, then I guess I can blame ur parents ???? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus123 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 2 hours ago, aircooledflat4 said: This little part was gutlessly left out of ABC’s report in OZ. It wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogi100 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 31 minutes ago, sydneyjed said: Thai,Qantas and Emirates fly Bkk to Sydney..so my guess would be the 7.30pm evening flight with Emirates.Can't possibly see though given the Thais' will side with the Saudis' and Australia is that far up Americas' ar.e they won't want to rock that sweet heart trade alliance.No tv or press access so she's doomed! Is the 7.30 flight you refer to going to Sydney. If so she'll OK. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Wo Nelly Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 Money talks Saudis walk. This girl will never be heard of again. Life is cheap in Thailand....remember. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchadian Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 She is NOT on the Kuwait flight according to Jonathan Head 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogi100 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 28 minutes ago, TMNH said: Obviously, you're unaware of how extreme families can be when sons or daughters dare to deviate from their set-in-stone thinking. I would advise you to read a bit re: what happens to those who dare to counter such lost-in-time thinking. I think khunpa was trying to be facetious. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMNH Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 5 minutes ago, yogi100 said: Is the 7.30 flight you refer to going to Sydney. If so she'll OK. Any place other than her home country. Which reminds me of Hasidic Jews are even worse- to the point of "shunning"....the German-based people in PA, Ohio, etc. are the same. Indoctrination (aka cultish tactics).. And such emphasis upon former acquaintances....where you would rather lay lo. Nope......not me:) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post anchadian Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) Flight KU 412 has now departed from BKK without her. Edited January 7, 2019 by anchadian 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananafish Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 So how did she end up in a hotel room at the airport? esn't make sense. Do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMNH Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 5 minutes ago, Wo Nelly said: Money talks Saudis walk. This girl will never be heard of again. Life is cheap in Thailand....remember. And the "cheap" will be challenged....to the point where you wish I wasn't there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack61 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Whatever happens from here don't go to the Saudi embassy or you're dead meat. This woman is in trouble as shown 2 months back in Turkey. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Dwyer Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Why she should want to enter thailand if she has a ticket to Australia?You’ll find your answer in the text you quoted . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony125 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 2 minutes ago, bananafish said: So how did she end up in a hotel room at the airport? esn't make sense. Do Doesn't make sense when you don't bother reading the entire posts. After having her passport and other documents taken from her by Saudi officials she was taken by them to the hotel where they stood guard over her along with men from Kuwai Airlines. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TMNH Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 1 minute ago, bananafish said: So how did she end up in a hotel room at the airport? esn't make sense. Do Just like your font doesn't make sense. Why you insist upon critiquing this woman is beyond me. You are NOT a detective nor will you qualify for such. And YOUR life is such that you are tied to whatever? Now you insist that YOUR thinking and lack of contemporary "things" make you a person to seek? Nope..,. Sorry - you waste time and energy, but your family is somewhat "moderate". And so the family <deleted> is watching you. I have every faith that yo'll do what is ok. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchadian Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 And so it continues in Thailand. Confirmation from Live Status departures website: KU 412 Kuwait Airways (KWI) Kuwait 11:15 AM En Route 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Geordie59 Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 This is one very brave Young woman. I hope someone will step in to help her. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon7867763 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) The Kuwaiti security officer has probably (I hope not) destroyed her passport by now, that's her only hope. He also (as she said) took her hotel reservation and return/onward ticket but maybe they are traceable digitally but the passport not. Anyway hoping for the best for her. Edited January 7, 2019 by johnsnapo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger70 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Islam the religion of peace and love and tolerance and justice, That's what they say. We hear and see different every day around the world. ???? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NanLaew Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) For the benefit of those that jump in without reading all the posts and all the links referenced in the thread. She apparently had a passport, valid visa and ticketing for Australia. She had planned a stopover in Bangkok so as not to 'raise suspicion' probably at Kuwait departures immigration, about a Saudi woman traveling alone. Accordingly she would have needed to clear Thai Immigration. It appears she may NOT have had a visa for Thailand OR the correct paperwork to get a Thai visa on arrival. She claims that while still airside at Bangkok, someone who promised to get her the proper Thai entry 'took' her passport. The nationality of that person hasn't been stated. Later, she claims her passport was forcefully taken from her. She also claims imprecisely of various males of Saudi, Kuwaiti and Thai nationality involved in her detention. She's either still holed up in the hotel room or she may have been escorted from the hotel room. That's speculative. She apparently is not on the Kuwait flight that just left but that's also speculative. Edited January 7, 2019 by NanLaew 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchadian Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Jonathan Head reports that Thai immigration and police officials walking in and out of transit hotel at Suvarnabhumi airport from outside Rahaf's room. Not sure what their next move will be. Journalists being kept away. More 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchadian Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) 7 minutes ago, NanLaew said: For the benefit of those that jump in without reading all the posts and all the links referenced in the thread. She apparently had a passport, valid visa and ticketing for Australia. She had planned a stopover in Bangkok so as not to 'raise suspicion' probably at Kuwait departures immigration, about a Saudi woman traveling alone. Accordingly she would have needed to clear Thai Immigration. It appears she may NOT have had a visa for Thailand OR the correct paperwork to get a Thai visa on arrival. She claims that while still airside at Bangkok, someone who promised to get her the proper Thai entry 'took' her passport. The nationality of that person hasn't been stated. Later, she claims her passport was forcefully taken from her. She also claims imprecisely of various males of Saudi, Kuwaiti and Thai nationality involved in her detention. She's either still holed up in the hotel room or she may have been escorted from the hotel room. That's speculative. She apparently is not on the Kuwait flight that just left but that's also speculative. It appears that all the above paras are 'speculative'. Confirmation please. We still await the truth. Edited January 7, 2019 by anchadian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Charlie1 Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 It's time for the people worldwide to understand that Thailand gives a shit on International Conventions and that Thailand should be treated the same way. Prayuth has promised elections to Merkel and it seems he has been lying again. Time for EU to stop relations with Thailand and for people worlsdwide to start boycotting anything Thai: Restaurants, businesses, tourism, etc. SHARE: #BoycottThai 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sweatalot Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 I thought stone age was over. I was wrong 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie1 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Thailand and especially the immigration crooks here have no say in this. She's on a transit to Australia, the govt there has shown her asylum application and wants to grant it to her. And if it's only a family affair, as Surachate says, that's one more reason for him to stay out of it and piss off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon7867763 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 1 minute ago, Charlie1 said: It's time for the people worldwide to understand that Thailand gives a shit on International Conventions and that Thailand should be treated the same way. Prayuth has promised elections to Merkel and it seems he has been lying again. Time for EU to stop relations with Thailand and for people worlsdwide to start boycotting anything Thai: Restaurants, businesses, tourism, etc. SHARE: #BoycottThai I see your location is Krabi. Better pack your bags and get the next flight out then ???? 1 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post smedly Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 1 hour ago, webfact said: He came back with what seemed to be airport security and said that my parents objected and said I must return to Saudi Arabia via Kuwait Airways," she said. what is this nonsense, she is an adult it has nothing to do with her family, she can make her own adult decisions There is nothing normal about her treatment in Thailand ???? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchadian Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 However, Human Rights Watch Asia deputy director Phil Robertson told the BBC: "It seems that the Thai government is manufacturing a story that she tried to apply for a visa and it was denied... in fact, she had an onward ticket to go to Australia, she didn't want to enter Thailand in the first place." He argued that the Thai authorities had clearly co-operated with Saudi Arabia as Saudi officials were able to meet the plane when it arrived. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-46777848 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post simtemple Posted January 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2019 Appalling that in 2019, before the eyes of millions following around the world, a woman is being deported to honour killing with nobody intervening to stop it. The Thai authorities are so far acting in disgusting complicity with Saudi Arabia, they need to be shamed out if it. 1/2 https://t.co/XIkHJVXptK Craig Murray Retired UK Ambassador 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Charlie1 said: It's time for the people worldwide to understand that Thailand gives a shit on International Conventions and that Thailand should be treated the same way. Prayuth has promised elections to Merkel and it seems he has been lying again. Time for EU to stop relations with Thailand and for people worlsdwide to start boycotting anything Thai: Restaurants, businesses, tourism, etc. SHARE: #BoycottThai Far too early just yet. Edited January 7, 2019 by evadgib Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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