A Saudi woman detained in Bangkok who is trying to come to Australia in a desperate attempt to flee her family will not be forced to return home, Thai authorities say.

After officials at Suvarnabhumi airport allegedly refused to give the United Nations access to 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun for several hours, UN representatives have removed Ms Alqunun from the hotel room and have told media she will remain under UN protection.

She has also been given her passport back.

Thai authorities confirmed she’s been granted temporary entry to the country.

“As of now, she does not wish to go back and we will not force her. She won’t be sent anywhere tonight,” Thailand’s immigration police chief, Major General Surachate Hakparn, said at a news conference at the airport where is stuck.

“She fled hardship. Thailand is a land of smiles,” he said.

“We will not send anyone to die. We will not do that. We will adhere to human rights under the rule of law.”

Camera Icon Rahaf Mohammed Alqunan is barricaded in a hotel room at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. She is fleeing abuse by her family and wants asylum in Australia. Credit: AP

Ms Alqunun barricaded herself in a hotel room for two days in Suvarnabhumi airport while sending out desperate pleas for help over social media.

She refused to board a flight to Kuwait on Monday as directed by Thai officials, fearing she will be killed by her father and brothers because she renounced Islam.

Soon after being taken into United Nations custody, she tweeted that her father had arrived at the Bangkok airport which “scared” her, but she felt “safe” under UNHCR protection.

The 18-year-old began posting on Twitter late on Saturday (local time) after her passport was taken away when she arrived in the Thai capital on a flight from Kuwait.

She has been appealing for aid from the United Nations refugee agency and anyone else who can help.

The refugee agency announced Monday evening that Thai authorities had allowed its officials to meet with Alqunun, but declined to give any details of their meeting, citing confidentiality.

Camera Icon Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, who fears for her life, shared a photo of herself and a copy of her passport on Twitter, writing she wanted the world “to know I’m real and exist”. Credit: Supplied, Twitter

Ms Alqunun’s planned forced departure Monday morning was averted as she stayed in her hotel room, with furniture piled up against the door, photos she posted online showed.

Her plight mirrors that of other Saudi women who in recent years have turned to social media to amplify their calls for help while trying to flee abusive families.

Ms Alqunun’s Twitter account has attracted tens of thousands of followers in less than 48 hours and her story has grabbed the attention of foreign governments and the UN refugee agency.

Camera Icon Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun has been posting video updates on Twitter and Youtube after she was held at an airport in Bangkok while attempting to travel to Australia. Credit: YouTube

Her pleas for asylum have also brought international attention to the obstacles women face in Saudi Arabia under male guardianship laws, which require that women, regardless of their age, have the consent of a male relative — usually a father or husband — to travel, obtain a passport or marry.

MailOnline reports the teen’s father told a Thai airport official that his daughter was mentally ill, however no evidence of her health has been provided.

“They took my passport,” she told AFP, adding that her male guardian had reported her for travelling “without his permission”.

WHY KUWAIT?

Ms Alqunun claims her family had taken a trip to Kuwait, where she made her escape and purchased flights to Thailand and Australia.

This morning Ms Alqunun tweeted that she has been forced to return to Kuwait via Kuwait Airways flight KU 412 from Suvarnabhumi Airport, adding a plea for help to stop it from leaving.

Activists following the case have called on the public to book tickets on the flight so they can prevent it from leaving.

She called upon US President Donald Trump and UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt to intervene. She has also pleaded with prominent human rights lawyers to help.

The teen wrote of being in “real danger” if she is forced to return to her family. She also posted a copy of her passport to provide evidence of her identity.

In a video posted to her Twitter account, Ms Alqunun had pushed a table up against the door of her hotel room, apparently to stop anyone from entering.

A Thai friend who is with Ms Alqunun at the hotel said immigration officers came to her room late on Sunday afternoon and told her she would be sent back to Saudi Arabia today.

“They said ‘you have three minutes to pack, and you will be flown back to Kuwait tomorrow … then returned to Saudi Arabia’,” she told reporters.

However, the teenager spoke to authorities and later returned to the hotel, human rights workers said.

‘THEY WILL KILL ME’

Ms Alqunun claims she will be imprisoned or worse if she is sent back to Saudi Arabia.

She told Human Rights Watch she was fleeing abuse from her family, including beatings and death threats from her male relatives who forced her to remain in her room for six months for cutting her hair.

“I’m sure 100 per cent they will kill me as soon as I get out of the Saudi jail,” she told AFP adding that she was “scared” and “losing hope”.

She also said she had asserted her independence, but had been forced to pray and wear a hijab and alleged she had been beaten by her brother.

“I am giving my family 48 hours (to) either stop or I will publish everything that will incriminate them,” she threatened on Twitter.

For runaway Saudi women, fleeing can be a matter of life and death, and they are almost always doing so to escape male relatives.

STOPPED IN THAILAND

Ms Alqunun claims her passport was taken after she was told by someone that they could get her a visa for Thailand.

She said after this several people came and told her they knew she had run away, that her family wants her back and that she should return to Saudi Arabia.

It’s understood a diplomat from the Saudi Embassy in Bangkok seized her passport to prevent her travelling to Australia.

Her father and brother are awaiting her arrival in Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia’s charge d’affairs in Bangkok Abdullah al-Shuaibi denied Saudi authorities were involved in any way.

He was quoted in the Saudi press saying that Ms Alqunun was stopped by Thai authorities because she did not appear to have a return ticket, a hotel reservation or itinerary to show she was a tourist.

Camera Icon Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, 18, wants to come to Australia after she made an attempt to flee Saudi Arabia before she was stopped in Thailand. She has been posting video updates on Twitter. Credit: Supplied, Twitter.

He said the Saudi Embassy has no authority to stop anyone at the airport and that this decision rests with Thai officials.

“She was stopped by airport authorities because she violated Thai laws,” he was quoted as saying in Sabq, a state-aligned Saudi news website.

“The embassy is only monitoring the situation,” al-Shuaibi said.

WHAT NOW?

Human Rights Watch Asia division deputy director Phil Robertson said the organisation was trying to lodge an asylum claim with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

He also questioned a statement by Thailand’s Immigration chief to the BBC that Ms Alqunun did not have a travel visa, which prevented her from entering Thailand.

Mr Robertson said Ms Alqunun was in transit to Australia when she was detained and did not need a visa, which is available on arrival anyway.

“What is truly appalling is how the Saudi Arabian government has acted in sending an official to physically seize her passport from her in Bangkok airport international transit,” he said.

“She is 18 years old, she has an Australian visa, and she has the right to travel where she wishes and no government should interfere in that.”

Mr Robertson said someone in the Thai government “needs to explain why diplomats from Saudi Arabia are allowed to walk in closed areas of the Bangkok airport, seizing one of their citizen’s passports”.

WHY DO SAUDI WOMEN FLEE?

Ms Alqunun’s concerns of returning to her family in Saudi Arabia mirror that of other Saudi women who have tried to flee abusive or restrictive conditions.

Camera Icon Many Saudi Arabian women have attempted to flee the country, escaping abusive or restrictive conditions. Credit: Supplied

A Saudi activist familiar with other cases of females who’ve run away said often the women are young, inexperienced and unprepared for the obstacles and risks involved in seeking asylum when they attempt to flee.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussion, the activist said there have been instances where Saudi women runaways were stopped by authorities in Hong Kong or the Philippines en route to Australia or New Zealand.

In some cases, Saudi authorities have been involved in forcing women to return to their families and in other cases local authorities suspect the women of seeking asylum and deport them.

Saudi women runaways have increasingly turned to social media to amplify their calls for help.

Camera Icon This incident is the latest drawing international attention to Saudi Arabia, which has been under increased pressure over the treatment of critics of the regime since the death of Jamal Khashoggi. Credit: AFP

In 2017, Dina Lasloom triggered a firestorm online when she was stopped en route to Australia where she planned to seek asylum.

She was forced to return to Saudi Arabia and was not publicly heard from again, according to activists tracking her whereabouts.

The latest incident comes against the backdrop of intense scrutiny on Saudi Arabia over its investigation and handling of the shocking murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year, which has renewed criticism of the kingdom’s rights record.