Thai police: Canada, Australia willing to accept Saudi woman

Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun (right) walks with an unidentified companion in Bangkok, Thailand  Jan. 11, 2019.  AP

BANGKOK — Police in Thailand say several countries including Canada and Australia are in talks with the U.N. refugee agency to accept a Saudi asylum seeker who fled alleged abuse from her family.

Thailand’s immigration police chief said Friday that UN was accelerating the case, though he gave no indication of when the process would be complete.

Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun was stopped at a Bangkok airport on Saturday and said her passport was seized. While barricading herself in an airport hotel room, the 18-year-old launched a social media campaign that drew global attention to her case.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees eventually granted her refugee status on Wednesday. /ee