A TOP judge has ordered the release of a British woman who says her dad has caged her in Saudi Arabia because she ”kissed a guy”.
Amina Al-Jeffery – who grew up in Swansea – says academic Mohammed Al-Jeffery locks her up in his home.
Today a British High Court judge said Mr Al-Jeffery should let his 21-year-old daughtercome back to her mum and siblings in South Wales.
Mr Justice Holman said Mr Al-Jeffery should give his daughter her Saudi and British passports and pay her fare.
He added: “Current circumstances are such that this British citizen does require protection. She is currently in peril from which she requires to be rescued.”
The judge said he had decided that he should take steps to protect Miss Al-Jeffery.
He added: “To do nothing at all would, in my view, be dereliction towards Amina.”
He added: “Current circumstances are such that this British citizen does require protection. She is currently in peril from which she requires to be rescued.”
The judge said he had decided that he should take steps to protect Miss Al-Jeffery.
He added: “To do nothing at all would, in my view, be dereliction towards Amina.”
Lawyers representing Amina – who has dual British and Saudi Arabian nationality – took legal action and asked Mr Justice Holman to look at ways of helping her.
Pictures which appear to show Amina in a cage at the home have been circulated after she sent them to friends and a judge heard how Mr Al-Jeffery had admitted locking his daughter in his flat when he went out.
Mr Al-Jeffery also admitted previously having ”steel latticework” over windows so Miss Al-Jeffery could not shout out.
But he argued he “it was (his) decision to bring Amina to Saudi Arabia” because she was “not focusing on school”.
Amina’s lawyer Anne-Marie Hutchinson QC said she has never been able to take instruction from Ms Al-Jeffery, who sent her emails in December 2015.
She wrote: “I am a threat to their secret – they want me to die.
“This time they’ll kill me or throw me in a Saudi women’s prison, which is basically a 19th century psychiatric home. It’s very risky now, will expand on everything when I get the chance. Do you think I could leave?”
She said she had been “physically abused” and described having her head smacked against the wall
The former Swansea schoolgirl said there have been times when was not been allowed to leave her room and she had to use it as a toilet.
The judge looked at the argument at a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London in July and delivered his ruling today.
Mr Justice Holman was told that Miss Al-Jeffery left Swansea and moved to Saudi Arabia with her family four years ago.
At the hearing the judge was told that Amina’s mum and siblings were back in South Wales.
Barristers Henry Setright QC and Michael Gration represented Miss Al-Jeffery and outlined concerns.
Barrister Marcus Scott-Manderson QC represented Mr Al-Jeffery.
During the hearing, Mr Justice Holman described the case as very sad and said Mr Al-Jeffery, who is in his 60s, was not seeing the situation through the ”right perspective”.
The judge said it was possible that Miss Al-Jeffery was being manipulative but said there was a ”degree of admission” from her father.
Lawyers for Miss Al-Jeffery had discussed a range of ways Mr Justice Holman might help.
They suggested that he could order Mr Al-Jeffery to take his daughter to the British Consulate in Jeddah and let her speak freely to staff or could order him to facilitate her return to the UK.
Mr Scott-Manderson told Mr Justice Holman that Mr Al-Jeffery did not accept the jurisdiction of the court to make orders against him.
He said: ”He wants to help Amina. He says he brought her to Saudi Arabia to help her.
“The father says Amina was at risk in Britain.”
Mr Scott-Manderson added: ”As head of the family it was (his) decision to bring Amina to Saudi Arabia. (He) decided to do it because Amina was not focusing on school.”
In a statement, the Foreign Office said: “We are providing assistance to a woman in Saudi Arabia.
“This has included visiting her and assisting her to speak to her lawyers in the UK as part of an ongoing legal process.”
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