Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that Canada was taking in an 18-year-old Saudi asylum seeker who fled her family and harnessed the power of Twitter to stave off deportation from Thailand.
Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun was already en route to Toronto late Friday when the prime minister made the surprise announcement, after officials had previously given heavy hints she was bound for Australia.
"Canada has been unequivocal that we'll stand up for human rights and women's rights around the world," Trudeau said. "When the United Nations made a request of us that we grant al-Qunun's asylum, we accepted."
"She chose Canada... Canada said it will accept her," Thai immigration chief Surachate Hakparn told reporters at Bangkok's main airport. "She is safe now and has good physical and mental health. She is happy."