Canberra cancels Bangkok football game in protest at Bahraini footballer's detention

[webfact]

Canberra cancels Bangkok football game in protest at Bahraini footballer's detention

 

File photo : Hakeem al-Araibi

 

The Football Federation Australia has cancelled a training trip of its Under-23s to Thailand to protest the Kingdom's continuing detention of a former Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi who holds Australian residency, according to the Guardian online.
 

Al-Araibi was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in late November after Australian Interpol issued a red alert on him. Learning about his visit to Thailand via Interpol, Bahrain issued an arrest warrant and asked Thailand to detain him.

 

He has remained in the Bangkok immigration jail pending extradition trial ever since.

 

Bahrain has submitted documents including the arrest warrant to back its request for the Thai Court to extradite Al-Araibi.

 

Led by Australia, support for Al-Araibi has accumulated in cyberspace and on social network platforms, most of the posts calling for Thailand to immediately release him so that he could return to his wife and Australia.

 

However, Bangkok insists that his trial has already commenced and cannot be retracted.

 

According to the Guardian, coach Graham Arnold said Australian national teams stood with al-Araibi, who faces a further two months in a Thai jail before discovering his fate. 

 

He is fighting an extradition order to send him back to Bahrain, where he fears he will be imprisoned and tortured, as he alleges occurred in 2012.

 

Plans had been made by FFA last year to play a friendly match against China in Bangkok as part of the team's preparations for the AFC Under-23 Championship qualifiers to be held in Cambodia in March, but alternatives are now being sought.

 

"On our return from the recent AFC Asian Cup we reassessed our plans due to the ongoing detention of Australian footballer Hakeem al-Araibi in a Thai prison," Arnold said.

 

"We are in the process of rearranging our pre-tournament camp in another Asian nation. Australia's national teams are united in their support for Hakeem al-Araibi and we call on the community to continue to campaign for his release."

 

According to the Guardian, Australia Super Rugby club Melbourne Rebels on Tuesday faced stiff backlash on social media after announcing a sponsorship deal with Thai Airways. The club was accused of being "tone deaf" and "failing to "read the room".

 

It later apologised "unreservedly" for any offence caused and said the club stood in full support of al-Araibi's cause and will use its new relationship to engage with the airline directly.

 

On Tuesday FFA pledged $10,000 to kick-start fundraising efforts to help continue the global advocacy campaign to return al-Araibi to Australia.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30363633

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-02-06

[Bluespunk]

Tick, tick, tick...pressures building Thailand, now do the right thing and let the guy go back to Australia.

[Reigntax]

The Thai government are experts in making themselves look foolish to the rest of the world

[from the home of CC]

Sounds like a perfect storm of bureaucratic missteps but he'll be eventually freed, he just should be thankful he's not a domino player...   

[champers]

The next court appointment is due in April, after the election. A lot can happen between now and then.

[SammyT]

Seen on the TVF Facebook comments section: 

 

"So now the young footballers, Thai and Oz, need to miss out on a game, because a refugee decided he didn’t want to stay in the country that had given him refuge? Again the question is, if he was so scared of being returned to Bahrain, why did he leave Australia in the first place? Are there not beautiful places in Australia for a honeymoon? Why is no-one expecting this guy to take responsibility for his own actions?"

 

Could that commenter be any more ignorant to expect that refugees shouldn't be able to get on with life and travel like all the rest of us? Ironically the commenter advocating for Al-Araibi to have to stay within Australia's borders for his life lives in Thailand with his Thai wife. I guess Australia wasn't a beautiful enough place for that poster to live for the rest of his life, but he expects that of someone who has fled persecution and who was set up by his home country's government. 

[sweatalot]

23 minutes ago, SammyT said:

Life is short. Be sure to spend as much time as possible arguing on the internet with random strangers"
~ Abraham Lincoln

He said this after they blocked his internet access for using it for political purpose,

which was not allowed at that time

[Oziex1]

Next step some kind of sanction that will have a financial sting. 

 

Game over, back to Aus for him business class on Thai!

[CanuckThai]

Thai political acumen is practiced within Thailand borders, should never be recorded, never be quoted.  It's for Thai eyes and ears only.  Shame on the world, for questioning anything Thai.... ????

[Phuketshrew]

2 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

Sounds like a perfect storm of bureaucratic missteps but he'll be eventually freed, he just should be thankful he's not a domino player...

or Bridge ...

[chainarong]

Australia or Bahraini that is the question Thailand , what's it going to be, going on previous episodes your choices have been a disgrace.

[OJAS]

7 minutes ago, chainarong said:

Australia or Bahraini that is the question Thailand , what's it going to be, going on previous episodes your choices have been a disgrace.

A steady supply of sealed brown envelopes passing from the Bahraini Embassy in Bangkok could well prove the decisive factor...

[Thechook]

He's a convicted criminal and a fugitive.  Send him to Bahrain to serve his sentence.  Australia shouldn't be harbouring him.

[DoctorG]

Story is OK but headline is misleading (often is). It erroneously infers that the Government cancelled the game.

[mickymouse1]

Thailand  Free Al-aaribi or we will stop visiting. You will lose$$$$$ even though not much but few $ more to a greedy person = a lot

[JAS21]

5 hours ago, Thechook said:

He's a convicted criminal and a fugitive.  Send him to Bahrain to serve his sentence.  Australia shouldn't be harbouring him.

Yes but justly ... some people really are naive

[SABloke]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

However, Bangkok insists that his trial has already commenced and cannot be retracted.

Really? Trials that start can't be retracted? ???? So Person A gets accused of murder and goes to trial - during the trial video footage is released showing Person B commit the crime. The judge says, "Sorry, the trial for Person A can't be retracted because it's already started". Yeah, didn't think so. 

[mikebell]

15 hours ago, Phuketshrew said:

or Bridge ...

Or darts.

Thailand's capacity to make itself a laughing stock throughout the world is staggering.

[Howard]

6 hours ago, Thechook said:

He's a convicted criminal and a fugitive.  Send him to Bahrain to serve his sentence.  Australia shouldn't be harbouring him.

How ignorant are you? Check the facts before you post such BS

[Howard]

1 hour ago, mickymouse1 said:

Thailand  Free Al-aaribi or we will stop visiting. You will lose$$$$$ even though not much but few $ more to a greedy person = a lot

Maybe the lost dollars aren't much compared to what Bahrain is offering Thailand or, at least, some Thais?

[meinphuket]

Australia and the red alert arrest warrant is the root of the problem, so it should shut up and not play the indignant party Anyway, . If the whole world ran away from problems in their country then nothing would ever change, so send him home and make a change there, Bahraini authorities are not likely to harm him now.

[Eligius]

22 hours ago, Reigntax said:

The Thai government are experts in making themselves look foolish to the rest of the world

'... making themselves look foolish ...' Yes, indeed.

It's so easy for them to LOOK what they in fact ARE!

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2019 by Eligius