RIYADH – A Saudi woman claiming she sought asylum in Australia was stopped on a layover in the Philippines and returned to Riyadh on Wednesday.

Dina Ali Lasloom said in self-recorded videos the Philippine authorities had held her at the Manila airport and confiscated her passport. The videos circulated widely on social media over the last two days.

“My name is Dina Ali and I’m a Saudi woman who fled Saudi Arabia to Australia to seek asylum,” she said in one video, adding she feared violence from any relatives who came to bring her back home.

“Please help me. I’m recording this video to help me and know that I’m real and I’m here.”

The woman did not say why she sought refuge abroad and the authenticity of the videos could not immediately be verified.

A screenshot from Dina Ali Lasloom’s Twitter account shows an image of her plane tickets. (Photo: Twitter)

The Saudi embassy in Manila issued a statement on Wednesday calling the case a “family matter” and added without elaborating that she had “returned with her relatives to the homeland.”

Philippine authorities did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

In Saudi Arabia, women are legally subject to a male guardian, who must give his approval for basic decisions on education, marriage, travel and even medical treatment.

Saudi authorities have over the last decade granted new opportunities for women to study and work. But women are still barred from driving and must obey a strict dress code requiring that they wear loose robes when in public.

– Reuters