She had intended to claim asylum in Australia and escape her family who she says abused her and threatened to kill her for, among other reasons, leaving Islam, an act that is a capital offence under Saudi law.
[6] based on the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, I'm rahaf mohmed, formally seeking a refugee status to any country that would protect me from getting harmed or killed due to leaving my religion and torture from my family.
Upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, a man greeted her, not disclosing that he was a Saudi embassy official, and told her that he needed her passport so that he could help her obtain a Thai visa.
[11][15][10][16] She also said she had barricaded herself in her hotel room, was refusing to exit until she met with UN representatives, claimed refugee status, and implored embassy officials of various Western nations to assist her in seeking asylum.
[12] Thailand's chief of immigration at the Royal Thai Police Surachate Hakparn subsequently confirmed that authorities in the country had acted at the behest of Saudi Arabia.
[23] Mohammed revealed in a later interview that she wrote a goodbye letter and decided that she would end her life if she was to be forced back to Saudi Arabia.
[24] In an initial assessment on 5 January 2019, Human Rights Watch Asia deputy director Phil Robertson said "the Thai government... (was then) manufacturing a story that she tried to apply for a visa and it was denied... in fact, she had an onward ticket to go to Australia, she didn't want to enter Thailand in the first place.
"[11] Two days later on 7 January 2019, after international pressure, the Thai official overseeing immigration in the case, Police General Surachate Hakparn, was seen walking beside Mohammed, and stated that "We will not send anyone to die.
"[25] Subsequently, she was placed under the care of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), her passport, which had indeed included a valid Australian tourist visa, was returned to her, and formal arrangements for the establishment of her long-term asylum status began.
"[34][35][36] Abdul-Ilah al-Shuaibi, Saudi Arabia's chargé d'affaires in Bangkok, was quoted as saying, in a meeting with the Thai immigration office: "When [Rahaf] first arrived in Thailand, she opened a new [Twitter account] and the followers reached about 45,000 within one day...
[19][38][39] After she was resettled in Canada, the Canadian government was accused by Saudi media of "an attempt at stirring up civil strife by inciting the Kingdom’s teenage girls to abandon social mores" in Okaz.