The Australian prime minister has intervened to try to save a young footballer from being extradited from Thailand to Bahrain, where he fears he will be tortured and jailed.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has written to Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailand’s prime minister, cautioning that returning Mr Araibi to Bahrain would infringe his rights under international human rights law, reported the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
Mr Araibi, 25, who fled alleged political persecution in Bahrain in 2014 and was granted refugee status in Australia in 2017, was arrested in late November while transiting through Bangkok airport en route to his honeymoon and is currently being detained in the Thai capital.
Bahrain on Monday submitted an official request for his extradition, dashing hopes among his growing base of international supporters of an early release, and prompting rights groups to declare his situation now an “emergency.”
The plight of Mr Araibi, a former member of the Bahrain national football team and who now plays semi-professional soccer for the Pascoe Vale Football Club in Melbourne, has shaken the world of international football.
Come on @FIFAcom sort this wrong out: https://t.co/Vx3LHfAeyD
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 28, 2019
Among his high-profile advocates is former England player Gary Lineker, who took to Twitter on Monday night saying: “Come on @FIFAcom sort this wrong out.”
At the forefront of the campaign to free the young player is Craig Foster, a former Australia football captain, who along with Brendan Schwab, the executive director of the World Players Association, met with senior FIFA officials in Zurich, Switzerland on Monday.
“We strongly urge the authorities in Thailand and Bahrain to do the right thing and ensure Mr Al-Araibi can go back safely to Australia as a matter of urgency”, said Fatma Samoura, FIFA’s secretary general, following the meeting.
The International Olympic Committee has also issued a statement of support for Mr Araibi, calling for a solution based on “basic human and humanitarian values” and the Asian Football Confederation on Tuesday, for the first time, called for his release.
According to Human Rights Watch, Mr Araibi was first arrested in Bahrain in 2012 and allegedly tortured while in detention because of his brother’s political activities.
He claims that in 2014 he was unjustly convicted of vandalizing a police station while he was playing a football match. He was sentenced in absentia to ten years in prison and fled to Australia, where the authorities examined his case and took him under their protection.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Human Rights Watch has reported extensive cases of widespread torture and ill-treatment of detained activists and dissidents by Bahraini security forces since the 2011 anti-government protests.
“Hakeem Araibi is a recognised refugee yet Thailand seems to be planning to forcibly return him to Bahrain, where he faces torture or worse,” said Minky Worden, HRW director of global initiatives.
The footballer was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on November 27, after Interpol issued a "red notice" — an international arrest warrant — which is not supposed to be given to refugees.
General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Bahraini interior minister, on Monday issued a strong statement on the case warning that “external interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain is unacceptable.”
IOC Statement on the case of Footballer Hakeem al-Araibi. The IOC supports Mr Al-Araibi and the FIFA position in this case. pic.twitter.com/SiROdfHobc
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) January 26, 2019
He accused Mr Araibi of taking part in a terrorist operation in 2012 involving an arson attack, possession of inflammable bombs and causing damage to public and private property.
“Those raising unfounded doubts about the integrity and independence of the Kingdom’s judicial system are not only interfering, but also attempting to influence the course of justice,” said the statement.
Meanwhile, Mr Araibi, who is reportedly being held in a crowded cell in Bangkok’s Khlong Prem Remand Prison issued a heartfelt plea for his release to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I don’t know why Thailand holds me. Where are my human rights? Why am I here? I am just a footballer, I am young, I don’t know why they keep me," he said.
"Please Australia, keep fighting for me. I pay taxes, I play football, I love Australia. Please don’t let them send me back to Bahrain."