A 21-year-old woman who found herself at the centre of a High Court battle after complaining that she had been imprisoned by her father in Saudi Arabia has yet to return to Britain - despite a landmark ruling by a judge, a lawyer says.
Mr Justice Holman ordered Saudi academic Mohammed Al-Jeffery to return Amina Al-Jeffery to Britain on August 3 after analysing the case at a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
The judge said Al-Jeffery had to “permit and facilitate” his daughter’s return to England or Wales by 4pm on September 11.
Solicitor Anne-Marie Hutchinson, who represents Miss Al-Jeffery, says her client has yet to return.
Miss Al-Jeffery - who grew up in Swansea and has dual British and Saudi Arabian nationality - complained her father locked her up in his flat in Jeddah because she had “kissed a guy”.
She had described herself as being “locked in a cage”.
Her father disputed her allegations and said he was trying to protect her.
Mr Justice Holman concluded that Miss Al-Jeffery’s freedom of movement had been severely constrained.
He said she could be described as “caged”- although she was not literally “in a cage”.
The judge said she was a British citizen abroad who was in peril and who needed protection.
He concluded he had the power to make protective orders and said doing nothing would be a “dereliction”.
Dawson Cornwell lawyers had described the ruling as a landmark and said they expected Al-Jeffery to comply with Mr Justice Holman’s order.