Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, who says she’s abused by her family and barricaded herself in a hotel room to avoid being sent back home has left the airport hotel she was in and is now staying at a hotel in Bangkok under the protection of immigration officials, Caroline Gluck, a senior regional public officer for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told Euronews.
A representative of the UNHCR met Qunun at the airport and was to discuss the case with Thai immigration officials
The 18-year-old was meant to take a flight back to Kuwait City, where her family is, on Monday morning.
Qunun has said she fears that if she goes back to her family they will kill her.
Deputy Asia Director for Human Rights Watch Phil Robertson, who’s been in contact with Qunun, told Euronews over the phone that the young woman had suffered “physical and psychological abuse from her family”.
Robertson said that she is “scared to death, is barricaded in her hotel, and wants the UNHCR to come see her.”
A tweet on Qunun’s Twitter account managed by a friend said that Thai authorities were preventing the United Nations from seeing her.
Melissa Fleming, the Chief Communication officer for UNHCR, tweeted that her colleagues in Bangkok were trying to reach Qunun.
Dear Rahaf, my @refugees colleagues are at the airport now and are seeking access to you!
— Melissa Fleming (@melissarfleming) January 7, 2019
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