Thailand has refused to extradite Saudi Arabia 18-year-old girl faces death for renouncing Islam
City and Country
The Thai authorities refused to deport to Saudi Arabia 18-year-old girl Rahaf Mohammed Kunun who ran away from home, threatening her with death. Previously, she has renounced Islam, which in its homeland is a very serious crime
Rahaf Mohammed / twitter.com
The Thai authorities refused to deport to Saudi Arabia 18-year-old girl Rahaf Mohammed Kunun who ran away from home, threatening her with death. Previously, she has renounced Islam, which in its homeland is a very serious crime.
The girl had to return the plane to Kuwait, where her family lives, but Rahaf January 7, barricaded themselves in a hotel room in Bangkok airport, reports Russian service BBC. The fugitive stated that her family will kill her for the public renunciation of Islam.
According to the girl, the relatives threatened her with death for the most minor infractions and now her life is in danger.
On the eve of 6 January, Thai authorities said that the girl was being deported because she had no visa to visit the country. However, she has visa in Australia, where she was flying, to ask for political asylum. To stay in Thailand Rahaf not planning to, but at the exit of the plane in Bangkok it met a Saudi diplomat. While in the Saudi Embassy in Bangkok said that the girl was stopped by Thai authorities for violation of the law, and Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with it.
“Looks like the Thai government trying to turn the story in such a way, as if she had asked for a visa and was refused. In fact, she had a ticket for a flight to Australia, she initially did not plan to visit Thailand,” he told broadcasting Corporation, Deputy Director of the Human rights organization Human Rights Watch for Asia Phil Robertson.
In her opinion, if Saudi official could be from the plane, which arrived Rahat, this means that the Thai authorities acted together with Saudi Arabia.
In weekend, the girl began to publish in social networks your photos and story. “At home I do not have the ability to work or learn. I want to be free, I want to study and work according to their choice,” she said. “I seek protection in the first place from the following countries: Canada / USA / Australia / UK. I ask any of their representatives to contact me”, – she wrote in Twitter.
She also posted a photo where she’s sitting in the hotel room, barricaded the door.
In the end, the fate of Rakhat concerned at Human Rights Watch, and the head of the immigration police of Thailand Surachat Haken promised that the country will give the girl the best possible protection. “She is now under the sovereignty of Thailand. No, no the Embassy will not force her to go somewhere else. We’ll talk to her and do everything she asks for,” said he.
In Saudi Arabia no other religion except Islam and convert to another religion is impossible. Recently for apostasy, the courts had not given death sentences, but Rahat can blame homeland terrorism.
Under the law on combating terrorism in Saudi Arabia and a series of related government decrees are subject to quite a lot of acts, including damage to the reputation of the country, violating public order or “calls for atheist thought in any form”.
In addition, an adult woman, who disobeys her man-guardian can be arrested for “disobeying”. If the police detain her for any reason, even without charges, to be released, it can only when a male guardian comes for her.
In the book American political scientist Ellen Wald “SAUDI, INC.”, extracts from which cites “Snob”, in particular, explains how the system of guardianship of relatives is endangering the lives of women affecting their fate. In 2012, a Saudi woman of 30 years managed to flee to Canada to seek asylum. She tried to escape from the humiliation in his family. Her childhood was humiliated father, then she was married to a drug addict, but after her divorce, she again came under the power of the father.
The police woman was afraid to go, as has already happened that the government gave her friends back family. In the end, she convinced family members to go along with it in Bahrain. From Bahrain, she flew on a direct flight to London and then to Canada, where it was waiting for a lawyer willing to help to apply for asylum.
Add concerns Rahat the Kunun do not look in vain. Cases are known when the Saudis brutally crack down on those who are using modern technology challenges the traditional society and shared Western values. And these people do not save even escape from the country.
At the beginning of November in Saudi prison, tortured to death of journalist and blogger Turki bin Abdul Aziz al-Jasser. He led Kashkool microblog Twitter, which reported on human rights violations by the government of Saudi Arabia and members of the Royal family. While he was in Dubai (UAE), Saudi authorities grabbed the blogger by agents of Saudi intelligence, who worked in the regional office Twitter.
Units of the Saudi “cyberarmies” created by former assistant crown Prince Saud al-Qahtani. In one of the “tweets” al-Qahtani warned that opponents of the regime will not be able to remain anonymous if you are using network aliases on Twitter.
Death of the blogger followed a month after the massacre of other opposition Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who worked as a columnist for The Washington Post. The journalist was missing since October 2, 2018, came to the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul to get the documents for registration of marriage with a citizen of Turkey.
Oct 20, Saudi authorities after a long silence admitted that the journalist “accidentally killed” during the fighting in the Consulate General. U.S. senators came to the conclusion that the murder of Assagi had a direct bearing on the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman al Saud.