Saudi runaway sisters plead for help on social media

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Two Saudi sisters are pleading for help from the former Soviet republic of Georgia after fleeing their country, in the latest case of runaways from the ultra-conservative kingdom posting appeals on social media.

Using a newly created Twitter account called “GeorgiaSisters”, they identified themselves as Maha al-Subaie, 28, and Wafa al-Subaie, 25.

In a video posted on Twitter, Maha says: “We want your protection. We want a country that welcomes us and protects our rights.”

The sisters claim they will be killed if they are forced to return to Saudi Arabia. They say their father and brothers arrived in Georgia looking for them.

In January, an 18-year-old Saudi woman was granted asylum in Canada after using Twitter to garner worldwide attention from a hotel room in Bangkok. /kga