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Rahaf al-Qunun flying to Canada in asylum bid Rahaf al-Qunun flying to Canada in asylum bid
(35 minutes later)
A Saudi woman who fled her family and refused to leave a Bangkok hotel is now flying to Canada where she is seeking asylum, Thai officials say. A Saudi woman who fled her family and became stranded at Bangkok's main airport is now flying to Canada to seek asylum, Thai officials say.
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, refused to board a flight from Bangkok to Kuwait on Monday and barricaded herself into her airport hotel room. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, had been trying to reach Australia via Bangkok, but was initially told to return to Kuwait, where her family were waiting.
She refused to fly back and barricaded herself into her airport hotel room, attracting international attention.
She said she had renounced Islam, which is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.She said she had renounced Islam, which is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
The UN's refugee agency has said it considers her to be a legitimate refugee.The UN's refugee agency has said it considers her to be a legitimate refugee.
Thai immigration officials had initially said she should return to Kuwait, where her family were waiting. Refugee status is normally granted by governments, but the UNHCR can grant it where states are "unable or unwilling to do so", according to its website.
She then started a social media campaign, live-tweeting her case and attracting international attention. Thai immigration officials told Reuters that Canada had "granted her asylum", however Canadian officials told the BBC they currently have "nothing to confirm" on the issue.
What happened to Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun?
She was on a trip to Kuwait with her family, when she fled on a flight to Bangkok.
She said she intended to take a connecting flight to Australia - and had an Australian visa - but that her passport was seized by a Saudi diplomat when he met her coming off the flight at Suvarnabhumi airport, leaving her stranded.
A Saudi envoy in Bangkok denied any official Saudi involvement in Ms Mohammed al-Qunun's detention.
Thai officials initially described her case as a "family problem" and said she would be repatriated back to Kuwait the next day.
However, Ms Mohammed al-Qunun sent a series of tweets pleading for help from her airport hotel room, and her case was picked up by Human Rights Watch and journalists.
On Wednesday, the UN refugee agency said it considered her a legitimate refugee. Australia was among the countries considering her case.
Why did she flee?
Renunciation of Islam is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
Under Saudi Arabia's "male guardianship system", a Saudi woman is required to obtain a male relative's approval to apply for a passport, travel outside the country, study abroad on a government scholarship, get married, leave prison, or even exit a shelter for abuse victims.
Ms Mohammed al-Qunun told the BBC: "I shared my story and my pictures on social media and my father is so angry because I did this... I can't study and work in my country, so I want to be free and study and work as I want."
She also said she was afraid her family would kill her.
Separately, she told AFP she had suffered physical and psychological abuse from her family, including being locked in her room for six months for cutting her hair.
A spokesperson for her family told the BBC that they did not wish to comment and all they cared about was the young woman's safety.