Saudi teen declared UN refugee deactivates her Twitter account over death threats

The teenager from Saudi Arabia who fled to Thailand after she was threatened for renouncing Islam has reportedly deactivated the Twitter account she used to publicize her case after she received death threats.

Rahaf Qunun, 18, was declared a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday after broadcasting to the world threats against her in her home country.

{mosads}Qunun made headlines over the weekend after she barricaded herself inside a hotel room near the Bangkok airport to avoid being deported back to Saudi Arabia.

She claims she is fleeing an abusive family that has threatened to kill her since she renounced Islam.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, told Buzzfeed News that Qunun temporarily suspended her Twitter account because of some “very nasty, very real death threats.” 

Qunun’s account was run by some of her friends who appeared to confirm the existence of threats online.

Rahaf received death threats and for this reason she closed her Twitter account , please save Rahaf life .#saverahaf

— Nourah #saverahaf (@nourahfa313) January 11, 2019

The Hill has reached out to Twitter for comment.

The teenager’s last message on Friday reportedly read, “I have bad and good news!”

Thai police said that multiple countries, including Canada and Australia, are working with U.N. officials to grant Qunun asylum, NBC News reported.

Thailand’s immigration police chief, Surachate Hakparn, told reporters that the U.N. was accelerating the case but offered no timeline. 

Qunun will remain in a safe location in Thailand until a long-term solution is found, officials said Thursday.

Elaine Pearson, the director of Human Rights Watch Australia, called on the government to “act quickly.” 

“She is a young Saudi woman whose face has been plastered around the world,” Pearson told The Guardian on Thursday. “She’s more at risk than other refugees, not just from her family but threats she has faced online and from her own government.”

“We all know what the Saudi government is capable of doing on foreign soil. I would hope that, once her claim has been assessed, the Australian government will act quickly to get her out of Thailand and to safety,” she added.