Canada grants asylum to Saudi teenager who fled her family

Canada has granted asylum to the 18-year-old Saudi woman, Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, who drew the world’s attention on social media in her desperate attempt to flee her abusive family after escaping to Thailand.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would accept Alqunun as a refugee days after she was stopped at the Bangkok airport. While the Thai police had denied her entry and seized her passport, Alqunun’s brother and father had reached there to take her back to Saudi Arabia.

Al Jazeera’s John Hendren has more.