Australian Bahraini dissident told he will face extradition hearing in Thailand

Hakeem Al-Araibi, who has refugee status in Australia, has been held in detention in Bangkok for 10 days

Helen Davidson

 

The Bahraini dissident refugee Hakeem Al-Araibi has been told he will appear in a Thai court on Friday morning for a hearing to decide on Bahrain’s extradition request.

 

Al-Araibi fled Bahrain in 2014 after he was arrested and tortured, and is now a permanent resident of Australia after being granted refugee status in 2017.

 

He has now spent more than 10 days in Thai detention after arriving for a holiday with his wife, only to be arrested at Bangkok’s international airport on the basis of a Bahraini-requested Interpol red notice.

 

Full story: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/07/australian-bahraini-dissident-told-he-will-face-extradition-hearing-in-thailand

 

-- The Guardian 2018-12-07

Fifa asks Thailand to free Bahraini footballer 

By The Nation

 

The International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) has called on Thailand to allow former Bahraini national footballer Hakeem al-Araibi to return to Australia, where he has been granted refugee status.

 

Al-Araibi is in detention in Bangkok on an Interpol warrant after being sentenced in absentia to a year in prison in his homeland in 2014. Many observers believe his trial was politically motivated and unjust.

 

Fifa expressed concern in a statement that his safety would be at risk if he were extradited back to Bahrain.

 

Al-Araibi was arrested in 2012 on charges of vandalising a police station amid Arab Spring-inspired protests. 

 

He fled to Australia and was granted refugee status in 2017. 

 

Prior to his arrest in 2012, he spoke out as a former member of Bahrain’s national soccer team, alleging that a senior Bahraini official had tortured footballers who participated in demonstrations.

 

Al-Araibi became the subject of an Interpol Red Notice requested by Bahrain and was detained at Suvarnabhumi Airport last week.

 

Fifa said it was “committed to the respect of internationally recognised human rights”, which it said were “related to the safety and wellbeing of all individuals involved in football”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30359984

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-07