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Marise Payne has declined to put a timeframe on how soon Australian authorities will be able to reach a decision on whether to offer asylum to Saudi teenager Rahaf Alqunun.
Key points:
- The Foreign Minister said Australia was accessing Rahaf Alqunun's claim for asylum
- Ms Payne said there were "a number of steps" still to be taken in the assessment process
- She said she had also spoken to Thai government officials about the detention of Hakeem AlAraibi
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was speaking in Thailand after talks with Thai Government officials, said Australia was engaged in the process of assessing Ms Alqunun's claim for asylum.
But she stopped short of saying how long the claim would take to be processed.
"There are, as I have just said, a number of steps in the process, including in terms of that assessment," Ms Payne said.
"They are required to be taken and they will be completed within due course and then that matter will be resolved."
The Department of Home Affairs confirmed on Wednesday that the United Nations refugee agency had referred Ms Alqunun's case to Australia for consideration.
Ms Alqunun's asylum application was fast-tracked, partly because of security concerns, after the young woman's father and brother arrived in Bangkok and asked Thai police to see her.
Ms Alqunun, 18, flew into Thailand from Kuwait on the weekend, saying she had a ticket onwards to Australia where she had hoped to seek asylum over fears her family would kill her for renouncing Islam.
But when she arrived in Bangkok she said a Saudi diplomat met her at the airport and tricked her into handing over her passport and ticket, saying he would secure a visa.
The teenager then barricaded herself inside her room at an airport hotel, and requested to speak to the United Nations refugee office.
Ms Payne said she had also spoken to Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister about the detention of Hakeen AlAraibi, and his possible return to Bahrain.
She said Mr AlAraibi had been visited by officials from the Australian embassy on a number of occasions and the Australian Government was engaging with his legal team.
"We are, as I've said, very concerned about his detention, very concerned about any potential for return of Mr Araibi to Bahrain," she said.
"I have reiterated those concerns to both ministers."
Topics: immigration, refugees, thailand, saudi-arabia, australia
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