Saudi father who 'caged' daughter Amina Al-Jeffery ordered to return her to UK

A 21-year-old woman who has been "deprived of her liberty" by her father must be allowed to return to the UK, a High Court judge has ruled. Amina Al-Jeffery, who was born and raised in Britain, claims her father locked her up at his home in Saudi Arabia because she "kissed a guy".

The father in question, academic Mohammed Al-Jeffery, took his daughter to Jeddah in 2012. He claims he did it to "save her life".

Amina Al-Jeffery has dual British and Saudi nationality. Her mother and siblings have since moved back to south Wales.

During the hearing, Mohammed, 60, admitted to locking his daughter inside the flat when he went out. He also installed steel bars over windows to prevent his daughter screaming for help.

Amina claims she has suffered physical abuse, including having her head hit against a wall. She also said there were occasions where she was forced to use her bedroom as a toilet after being prevented from leaving.

Representing Mohammed, Marcus Scott-Manderson QC said: "He wants to help Amina.

"He says he brought her to Saudi Arabia to help her. The father says Amina was at risk in Britain," Scott-Manderson added: "As head of the family it was [his] decision to bring Amina to Saudi Arabia. [He] decided to do it because Amina was not focusing on school."

Delivering his ruling, Mr Justice Holman said Amina's freedom of movement had been severely curtailed and said she could be described as "caged", although she was not literally "in a cage."

"Current circumstances are such that this British citizen does require protection," the judge said. "She is currently in peril from which she requires to be rescued.

"To do nothing at all would, in my view, be dereliction towards Amina." The judge added that her father "must permit and facilitate the return of Amina if she so wishes to Wales or England and pay the airfare" by 11 September.

Despite the judge's ruling, he admitted there was "little or nothing this court could do" if Mohammed "was determined not to comply with [the court order]".

However, if Mohammed does not follow the judge's orders, he could face contempt of court proceedings if he returns to the UK. The judge said: "There are no conventions between Britain and Saudi Arabia. The courts in Saudi Arabia would not even recognise the basis of the claim, because it does not recognise dual nationality." Neither Mohammed nor his daughter were present for the ruling.

Speaking outside court after the ruling, Anne-Marie Hutchinson, who represented Amina Al-Jeffery, said: "We have got exactly what we wanted."