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Saudi woman in Thailand pleads for asylum

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An 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled her family at the weekend has reiterated her plea for asylum in Canada, the United States, Australia or the UK.
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun refused to board a flight from Bangkok to Kuwait on Monday and barricaded herself into her airport hotel room.
She said she feared her family would kill her for renouncing Islam.
She is now staying at a Thai government shelter while the UN refugee agency assesses her case.
Her father and brother have arrived but she is refusing to see them.
Renunciation of Islam, known as apostasy, is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
Thai immigration officials had initially said she should return to Kuwait.
In another development, Ms Mohammed al-Qunun said her passport had been returned. A Saudi diplomat had reportedly seized it when she flew into Thailand from Kuwait on Saturday.
She has told the BBC that she is fine, and hoping to be granted asylum in a third country.
She captured the attention of social media users around the world by live-tweeting every twist and turn in her story. Her brand new Twitter account attracted 50,000 followers in a day and a half.

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