UAE woman seeks asylum from Europe after ‘death threats’ over wanting divorce


An Emirati woman who fled her home country after allegedly receiving death threats from her family for wanting to divorce her husband is now seeking help from European authorities after a Northern Macedonian court rejected her request for asylum.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Northern Macedonia told Anadolu Agency (AA) that 42-year-old Hind Mohammed al-Bolooki, a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, had left North Macedonian territory to head further into Europe.

According to the statement, al-Bolooki informed the ministry on Feb. 13 through her legal representative that she wished to leave the country voluntarily. She had until Feb. 19 to leave on her own will, or she would be deported back to the UAE.

After being allowed to leave the Foreign Admission Center in the Macedonian capital Skopje, al-Bolooki left the country on Feb. 15 from Skopje International Airport.

Jeremy "Jejem" Desvages, a French human rights advocate who is said to be al-Balooki's legal counselor, shared a post on his Twitter account that said: "We boarded a plane to Europe with Hind. She is safe with me."

Al-Bolooki traveled to the German capital Berlin after leaving Skopje, according to media reports.

A mother of four, al-Bolooki came from Dubai to Northern Macedonia in October 2018 and claimed asylum there. The Ministry of Internal Affairs rejected her asylum claim due to lack of evidence demonstrating she was being persecuted.

Previously, on Dec. 7, the ministry requested al-Bolooki's free movement be restricted to ensure national security and public order.