Saudi woman seeks UK protection after defying father for love
The 33-year-old woman, who can be identified only as Suad, may pay a heavy price for defying her well-connected father and marrying an Italian she met on holiday.
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LYING in her hotel bed in Italy, the London-born daughter of a Saudi lawyer was jolted awake by screams of “Polizia!” Within moments, a policeman was brandishing a gun inches from her face.
Before she had had a chance to demand an explanation, she was told she was under arrest.
The 33-year-old woman, who can be identified only as Suad, was about to discover that she may pay a heavy price for defying her well-connected father and marrying an Italian she met on holiday.
She was imprisoned for four days and confined for two months to the town where she has settled in southern Italy. Although she has dual British-Saudi nationality, she now faces possible extradition to Saudi Arabia and a five-year prison sentence.
The allegation against her is that she used a friend’s passport to leave the country against her father’s wishes in order to marry.
