Yemeni court frees Saudi ‘Juliet’

Young Saudi woman who had crossed the border illegally to elope with a Yemeni man has applied for asylum and been released into UN custody.

Runaway may get refugee status, and be allowed to marry

SANAA // A Yemeni court yesterday released into the custody of the United Nations a Saudi woman who had crossed the border illegally to elope with a Yemeni man defying tradition in both countries.

In a case reminiscent of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, Huda Ali, 22, defied her family and went to Yemen to be with her beloved Arafat Al Qadi, 25.

Ms Ali was arrested in Yemen for illegal entry and put on trial, amid mounting pressure from her family and Saudi authorities for her to return home.

But she stood her ground, pleading in court to be able to stay and marry Mr Al Qadi, and applied for asylum through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Yesterday a Yemeni judge decided to release Ms Ali into the custody of the UNHCR for a period of three months during which she should be able to obtain refugee status.

A UNHCR representative said Ms Ali had initiated proceedings to be granted refugee status in Yemen.

If she succeeds, she will be able to marry Mr Al Qadi and therefore remain in Yemen.

Yesterday’s hearing was scheduled for December 1, but it was brought forward following a request by Ms Ali’s lawyer who feared for her safety while detained.

In court on Sunday, she refused to accept a lawyer provided by the Saudi embassy, fearing pressure to return home.

She accepted, however, a lawyer appointed by a Yemeni non-government organisation called Hood who had campaigned to reunite the modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

The lovers’ plight has gripped imaginations in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, where the young woman’s courage has been seen as astonishing.

She not only went against the wishes of her family, who said she could not marry Mr Tahar, but also dared to flee the country and follow him to Yemen.

Trial proceedings were due to begin on December 1 but the hearing was brought forward following a request by her lawyer, who feared for her safety behind bars.

Ms Ali’s case has also come to the attention of the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

On November 19, the rights group urged Yemen not to repatriate her and to take into consideration the fact that returning to her family could put her life at risk.

“She fears physical harm from her family members, whom she said have beaten her in the past, if she is returned to Saudi Arabia,” the group said.

* Agence France-Presse