LONDON: A British-Saudi woman who accuses her father of holding her against her will in Saudi Arabia is “in peril” and must be allowed to return to the UK, a British High Court judge ruled Wednesday.
Judge James Holman ordered the man to let his 21-year-old daughter come back to Britain, where she was born and raised, and where her mother and siblings live.
The young woman, who moved to Saudi Arabia with her father in 2012, appealed to British lawyers for help, saying that her father had locked her up because she “kissed a guy.”
Her father denies imprisoning her, and says he moved her from Britain because she was skipping school and taking drugs.
Holman ruled Wednesday that woman is “in peril from which she requires to be rescued.”
He said her freedom of movement had been constrained and she could be described as “caged,” although not literally “in a cage.”
The judge said the father must return his daughter’s British and Saudi passports and pay her airfare. Holman set a deadline of Sept. 11 for him to comply, though there is little British courts can do if he chooses to ignore the order.
UK judge says Saudi man must let daughter return to Britain
