Pair say they have fled family abuse and will either be killed or made to marry if forcibly returned

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Two Saudi sisters trapped in Hong Kong say chronic physical abuse by male family members prompted them to flee the kingdom, where they fear they will be forcibly returned.

The two are the latest example of Saudi women trying to escape from the ultra-conservative kingdom who find themselves dodging officials and angry family.

The women, aged 20 and 18, were marooned after Saudi consular officials allegedly intercepted them during a stopover at Hong Kong’s airport and revoked their passports.

They have adopted the aliases Reem and Rawan, and have described an unhappy upbringing in a middle-class Riyadh household.

They said they were beaten by their father when they were young and by their brothers when they got older for things such as waking up late for prayer.

“They started to beat me ... My father didn’t really stop them. He thinks that this is what makes them men,” Reem said.

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Even their 10-year-old brother participated and began to police the way they dressed, they said.

The sisters decided to escape during a family holiday in Sri Lanka in September, when their passports would be kept in their parents’ bag instead of a safe – and when they would not need permission from a male guardian to travel abroad.

They started planning two years ago to coincide with Rawan’s 18th birthday so she could apply for a visitor’s visa to Australia on her own.

The sisters got their passports while their parents were sleeping and flew from Colombo to Hong Kong but said they were stopped by several unknown men at the airport.

Their flight booking to Melbourne had been cancelled and they later learned one of the men was Saudi Arabia’s consul general in Hong Kong.

Fearing they were about to be forcibly abducted, the sisters entered Hong Kong as visitors and have lived in hiding for nearly six months. They have changed locations 13 times.

They said police tried to take them to meet male relatives and Saudi officials.

Hong Kong’s security minister, John Lee, said on Friday that “police have received two separate reports, one regarding missing person[s] and one regarding request for investigation”. He did not elaborate.

Immigration authorities said they would not comment on individual cases.

The Saudi consulate in Hong Kong did not respond to requests for comment.

The sisters have been told by their lawyer that their passports had been revoked in November, leaving them stateless.

They are fearful of being returned to Saudi Arabia and facing their family’s wrath.

“Either we will be killed because they want to clear [the] shame we brought as women who left by their own, or they will force us to marry ... our cousins,” said Reem.

They have renounced Islam and fear the death penalty if they return home.

Apostasy or blasphemy is punishable with jail or death sentences in some Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia.

One month ago an 18-year-old Saudi woman, Rahaf Mohammed, drew global attention with her dramatic escape from an allegedly abusive family. She was given refugee status in Canada.

Michael Vidler, a lawyer for the pair, said Hong Kong immigration authorities had indicated they would be “tolerated” until 28 February but could then be deported. They now hope to be granted asylum in a third country.