Skip to main content

Saudi sisters stranded in Hong Kong face deportation

Saudi sisters stranded in Hong Kong face deportation
Two Saudi sisters fleeing what they described as beatings in their home country face a deadline for deportation from Hong Kong within hours unless authorities extend their stay.

The pair, aged 18 and 20, whose identities have not been revealed in a bid to secure their safety, say they could face death if they are deported.

Their lawyer, Michael Vidler, said the immigration department had acknowledged their request and were hopeful a visa extension beyond Thursday’s deadline would be granted.

“We are in fear every day we are in Hong Kong. We want to leave to a third country place of safety as soon as possible. We desperately hope that this will happen very soon,” the sisters said in a statement issued by their lawyer.

The sisters arrived in Hong Kong in September 2018 after running away from a family holiday in Sri Lanka. They have applied for asylum in an unidentified third country.

While fleeing through Hong Kong, they were prevented from boarding a flight to Australia and were intercepted by Saudi Arabian diplomats, the sisters said.

They managed to escape and enter the city as visitors with permission to stay until Thursday. Reuters could not independently verify their story.

The Hong Kong immigration department did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Saudi consulate in Hong Kong has not responded to repeated requests for comment from Reuters.

Amnesty International on Thursday urged Hong Kong authorities not to return the sisters to Saudi Arabia.

“This would place them in grave danger,” said Kate Schuetze, Amnesty’s refugee researcher. “They fled the kingdom after repeated abuse by male relatives and they are at real risk of serious human rights violations if they are forcibly returned.”



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burkina Faso: Terrorist attacks prompt state of emergency

A deadly ambush in a northern province on the border to Mali has prompted Burkina Faso's president to declare a state of emergency. Burkina Faso is battling increased attacks by militants in the Sahel region. Officials in Burkina Faso announced Monday that President Roch Marc Christian Kabore is declaring a state of emergency in northern provinces following intensified attacks from terrorist groups in the area. "The president has decided to declare a state of emergency in certain provinces of Burkina Faso," Communications Minister Remis Fulgance Dandjinou said after a special cabinet meeting. "He has also given instructions for specific security measures across the country." Names of the provinces where the state of emergency will go into effect will be named in a forthcoming presidential decree. The measure gives security forces extra powers to search homes and restrict freedom of movement. Intensified militant attacks in Sahel states Since 2015, the Wes...
Post a Comment
Read more

Last day today to avail tax amnesty scheme

The tax amnesty scheme will not be extended beyond midnight tonight (Tuesday), the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) announced on Tuesday. The FBR has warned holders of undeclared local and foreign assets will face consequences if they do not declare assets after the expiry of the tax amnesty scheme. According to Chairperson of the Federal Board of Revenue Rukhsana Yasmin, there is no possibility in further extension of the deadline. She urged the public to avail this last and final chance to get their undeclared assets declared since today is the last day today to avail tax amnesty scheme The tax amnesty scheme was announced by the PML-N government earlier this year, came into effect on April 10, 2018 and was to end on June 30, 2018. The scheme had been cited as an opportunity for people to file their local and foreign assets without facing any consequences.            
Post a Comment
Read more

Qurashi urges peoples of Sindh to support PTI for bringing change in Provence

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qurashi on Saturday has criticized Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and urged peoples of Sindh to support Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) for bringing change in the Provence. Addressing to a ceremony in Ghotki FM Shah Mehmood said, “The party which was a sign of center in now seems nowhere even in its own province.” “PPP has now reduced to interior Sindh only,” criticized Shah Mehmood. “Those who believe that it’s our last gathering in Ghotki should mark my words that PTI is now an identity of center and the people of Sindh know that who is behind the destruction of the Sindh,” he added. “When I joined PTI, I started my politics from Ghotki,” he further added. “Various opponents believed that my politics is finished, but I was affirmed to bring the change under Imran’s vision,” he asserted. “Due to our commitment people like Safdar Abbasi and Zulfiqar Mirza are now part of our journey,” he added. “Tabdeeli entered in Punjab after crushing JUI-F an...
Post a Comment
Read more