An injunction filed earlier today at Bangkok’s Criminal Court in a bid to prevent the deportation of 18-year-old Saudi national Rahaf Mohammed Mutlaq Alqunun — currently being held at Suvarnabhumi International Airport — has been dismissed by the court due to “lack of evidence.”
Human Rights lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman along with fellow lawyers at her law firm, Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), filed the injunction at 1pm today after Human Rights Watch contacted them regarding the case, Nadthasiri told Coconuts Bangkok this afternoon.
The firm filed an injunction claiming that Alqunun had been baselessly detained against her will, a violation of the Thai Immigration Act.
“Alqunun told me that someone claiming to be a Saudi official took her passport and ticket, preventing her from continuing her travels to Australia. We wanted the court to look into the reason and manner in which she was detained,” said Nadthasiri.
“How can we even be sure the person was a Saudi official? We want the court to question relevant authorities.”
After a few hours of consideration however, the court this afternoon deemed that their case lacked the necessary evidence to grant the injunction.
“The court wouldn’t even look into the case, because they claimed that there were no witnesses,” Nadthasiri said. “We also couldn’t find a witness, which is one of the reasons we went to court in the first place.”
The firm is now preparing an appeal they hope to file tomorrow.
“Right now, Alqunun is still in the hotel room,” said another CrCF lawyer, who spoke to Coconuts on condition of anonymity.
“Since she does not have a Thai visa, she cannot leave… We want to see Rahaf make it to Australia like she planned.”
Video from @rahaf84427714 just sent from her hotel room at the #Bangkok airport. She has barricaded herself in the room & says she will not leave until she is able to see #UNHCR. Why is #Thailand not letting @Refugees see her for refugee status determination? @hrw #SaveRahaf pic.twitter.com/3lb2NDRsVG
— Phil Robertson (@Reaproy) January 7, 2019
One man who knows better than most what Alqunun is going through is Hassan Al Kontar, who came to international attention last April when his attempts to seek asylum abroad saw him first stuck for months in in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, then later arrested.
Al Kontar, who is now living in Canada after a successful 11th-hour plea not to be sent back to Syria, earlier today expressed support on Twitter, the same platform that allowed him to take his case to a large audience.
Speaking to Coconuts Bangkok, Hassan offered his own best advice for the embattled 18-year-old.
“Send emails to Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UNHCR. They will find you a solution,” he said. “Speak as a human being asking for your rights, the ones you can’t have in KSA [the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]. Speak about other female Saudi activists who are still in jail because they stood up for their rights, and how you are going to face the same — if not [death].”
One final piece of advice? Tweet in English to reach the largest possible audience for your message.
Unlike Kontar’s case, however, Alqunun’s lawyers don’t believe her situation will be drawn out for quite as long.
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