Saudi sisters stranded in Hong Kong remain hopeful as deadline approaches despite no response to their emergency asylum request in third country

With just one day to go before the asylum they were granted in December expires, the two sisters – now living in Hong Kong – still hope for the best

They fled their family while on holiday in September and say the Saudi consulate in Hong Kong tried to abduct them and put them on a flight to Riyadh

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The two sisters have been stuck in Hong Kong since September. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:40pm, 27 Feb 2019Updated: 8:55pm, 28 Feb 2019

Two Saudi sisters stranded in Hong Kong after fleeing their home country remain hopeful of making their way out eventually, despite being unsure about whether an emergency asylum request they filed two months ago will be successful, their lawyer said on Wednesday.

The pair, who now have one day left before their allowance to stay in the city expires on Thursday, have sent out a message to the world that Hong Kong is not a safe place for them.

The sisters say they escaped a dramatic attempted kidnap at Hong Kong International Airport in September that was allegedly orchestrated by the Saudi consulate, then applied for emergency asylum to an unnamed third country in late December. This was followed by an assessment interview in late January, but they have heard nothing since then, human rights lawyer Michael Vidler said.

“They thought that, as an emergency asylum request, it would be dealt with on an emergency basis,” Vidler said.

“The girls remain hopeful that the application will be granted – they have to be – but they are extremely concerned that their emergency visa application has been accorded insufficient urgency.”