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Father who ‘imprisoned’ daughter in Saudi Arabia must return her to UK

The 21-year-old, who grew up in Swansea and has dual British and Saudi Arabian nationality, says her father, Saudi Arabian academic Mohammed Al-Jeffery, locked her up because she “kissed a guy”.

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But Mr Justice Holman, presiding over the case, ruled Miss Al-Jeffrey’s freedom of movement had been severely constrained.

Holman set a deadline of September 11 for him to comply, though there is little British courts can do if he chooses to ignore the order.

During the hearing, Mr Justice Holman described the case as very sad and said Mr Al-Jeffery, who is in his 60s, was not seeing the situation through the “right perspective”.

But he said he had a “moral hold” over Mr Al-Jeffery.

FOREIGN Secretary Boris Johnson has been urged by an MP to step in to help a young Swansea woman locked up by her father in Saudi Arabia.

Lawyers for the father said he disputed his daughter’s statements, arguing that he was trying to “save her life” after she became “reckless” in her teenage years.

Her father denies imprisoning her, and says he moved her from Britain because she was skipping school and taking drugs.

Mr Justice Holman said today the issue was whether he should exercise that power.

Solicitor Anne-Marie Hutchinson, who represented Miss al-Jeffery, said after the ruling: “We have got exactly what we wanted”. “(He) chose to do it because Amina was not focusing on school”.

Former Olchfa School pupil Amina Al-Jeffery, aged 21, is now being kept by her strict Muslim father after she kissed an American student.

Her father Mohammed Al-Jeffery, who is a Saudi academic, admitted locking her in the flat when he went out.

He added: “To do nothing at all would, in my view, be dereliction towards Amina”.

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But he said the issue was: “How far could or should this court go to seek to protect a British citizen who resides overseas?”

MP urges Boris Johnson to help Swansea woman 'locked up by father' in Saudi Arabia