International refugee lawyer Dr Mahmoud Refaat told SBS Arabic 24 that he fears for the safety of 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun if she's repatriated back to Saudi Arabia.
The France-based Egyptian lawyer has been in contact with the teenager since she was stopped at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport by Saudi and Kuwaiti officials who "forcibly took her passport", a claim backed by Human Rights Watch.
Ms Qunun, who says she's fleeing her family who subjected her to physical and psychological abuse, is currently being held at an airport hotel by diplomatic and airline staff, despite holding a subclass 600 tourist visa to travel to Australia.
She tweeted that she was due to be deported on a Kuwait Airways flight to Kuwait due to depart at 11.15am (0415 GMT).
"I ask the the government of Thailand... to stop my deportation to Kuwait," she said on Twitter.
"I ask the police in Thailand to start my asylum process."
Dr Refaat alleges that the Saudi embassy in Bangkok "took her passport in cooperation with an employee of Kuwait airways who came to her after she came out of the aircraft".
"She's very young, she trusted him and she gave him the passport. He gave it to an employee of Saudi Arabia who left with this passport," the lawyer said.
Dr Refaat said he's successfully lobbied for European Parliament members to email the cabinet of the Prime Minister of Thailand to release Ms Qunun.
He's also calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to intervene to provide documentation that would allow her to travel to Australia without a passport.
"The message is for the Australian prime minister to intervene because she declared on Twitter that she is an asylum seeker according to international law," he said.
"The United Nations as well has an obligation to intervene and not to ignore her case."
Various Arabic media outlets have reported that Ms Qunun is the daughter of a "Saudi governor" and that she fears death if she's repatriated to the Gulf nation.
"My family is strict and locked me in a room for six months just for cutting my hair," she told AFP, adding that she is certain she will be imprisoned if she is sent back.
"I'm sure 100 per cent sure they will kill me as soon as I get out of the Saudi jail," she said, adding that she was "scared" and "losing hope".
Ms Qunun was stopped from entering Thailand when she flew in from Kuwait on Sunday, Thailand's immigration chief Surachate Hakparn said, adding that Thai authorities had contacted the "Saudi Arabia embassy to coordinate".
Rahaf Mohammed Multaq al-Qunan in her hotel room. Source: Twitter
Saudi authorities have denied their involvement, saying Thai officials stopped Ms Qunun because she did not have a return ticket or an itinerary to show she was a tourist.
The Saudi Embassy has no authority to stop anyone at the airport, Saudi media reports.
Murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Source: AAP
'Very scared'
The incident comes against the backdrop of intense scrutiny of Saudi Arabia over its investigation and handling of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Turkish consulate.
Dr Refaat said Ms Qunun was "very scared and terrified" following the Khashoggi incident.
"She's coming from a society where she knows very well what will happen to her if she goes back. That's why she's terrified, scared and feels unsafe," he said.
"Any woman who escapes Saudi Arabia, her story is completely understood and we understand the inhumane treatment of women in Saudi Arabia. We have thousands of stories, we have thousands of girls and ladies who are in prison. We have thousands of stories of them being violated or threatened to be violated."
-With AFP
