Hakeem al-Araibi ( Arabic : حكيم العريبي ; born 7 November 1993 ) [ 1 ] is an australian football player of Bahraini origin. He is a dissenter, who fled to Australia in 2014 and subsequently gained australian citizenship in March 2019. [ 2 ] He was arrested on arrival in Thailand from Australia for a vacation in November 2018 on the basis of an Interpol “ red notification “ issued by Bahrain, and was held there pending deportation to Bahrain, which he opposed. There was a campaign urging Thailand not to extradite him until 11 February 2019, when the Thai Office of the Attorney-General dropped the extradition casing against him at Bahrain ‘s request. He was returned to Australia the future day and became an australian citizen in the weeks thereafter.
Reading: Hakeem al-Araibi
Life and career in Bahrain [edit ]
Al-Araibi was a professional football player, playing as a defender for the Bahrain home football team [ 3 ] and for local Manama baseball club Al-Shabab. Al-Shabab spend years in Bahrain ‘s top class and included a act of young players who had represented the country ‘s diverse national youth teams. Al-Araibi was one of these, playing for Bahrain ‘s Olympic team. As a 15-year-old in 2009, he had been spotted play by a educate teacher, whose suggestion to a local scout brought him to the attention of the BFA. In 2010 he was called up to the Under-17 team. He was overjoyed, and saw the home teams as symbols of one between the Shia and Sunni populations of the nation. [ 4 ] In 2009 his family lived in Jidhafs, a few kilometres west of Manama. [ 4 ] He has a brother, Emad, who is as of February 2019 imprisoned in Bahrain for the same offense as that with which Hakeem is being charged. [ 1 ] [ 5 ] Emad had come to the attention of authorities as an activist before the 2011 bristle, and one night at the end of 2011 patrol turned up at the family home at 3 a.m, looking for him. As Emad was not there, they took Hakeem, accused him of burning tyres, which he denied, and held him for three months, until February 2011 and the bristle was under way. [ 4 ] The BFA targeted Al-Shabab, being a Shia club, and for about a year after the rotation there was no football there. finally they demoted the clubhouse to the second division. [ 4 ] After his check and detention in November 2012, Hakeem returned to play for Al-Shabab and in late 2013 was called up for the aged national team by the newly-appointed English bus, Anthony Hudson. In November 2013 al-Araibi travelled with the national team to Qatar for the 2014 West asian Football Federation Championship, where the team drew 0–0 with Iraq on 28 December 2013. [ 4 ]
Dissent and conviction [edit ]
Al-Araibi spoke out against the persecution and torture of other footballers who had demonstrated against the rule regimen during the Bahraini bristle of 2011 [ 6 ] ( which was by and large led by Bahrain ‘s majority Shia, as is al-Araibi, [ 7 ] whilst the ruling family is Sunni [ 8 ] ). On his 19th birthday on 7 November 2012, walking on his means to a café in Bahrain, he was picked up by Bahraini security system forces. They accused him of vandalising a police place four days earlier, based on the supposed confession of his brother Emad, who allegedly told them that Hakeem had been part of a crowd of protesters who set upon the build with Molotov cocktails. [ 1 ] [ 9 ] The future day Al-Araibi told the populace prosecutor he had been playing in a telecast football meet when the fire took position and denied the allegations. But his detention was extended for 45 days, during which he says security forces tried to torture a confession out of him. [ 6 ] He told german broadcaster ARD “ They spent three hours hitting me hard on my legs, while saying we will break your bones, we will destroy your future, you will never play football again with these legs. ” [ 8 ] He was then released on bail .
Details of alleged discourtesy and the prosecution case [edit ]
After fleeing the country, al-Araibi was tried in absentia for vandalism of Al Khamees police station in Manama on 3 November 2012, when, according to police, a mob of 150 people had attacked the build, throwing Molotov cocktails and smashing windows, [ 4 ] which he denies, and sentenced to ten years in prison. [ 6 ] Amnesty International identify this test as “ unfair ”. [ 6 ] The allege vandalism was said to have taken seat at around the time that al-Araibi was playing in a telecast football match. [ 3 ] [ 8 ] [ 11 ] The meter of the attack on the patrol station is key to Hakeem Al-Arabi ‘s excuse. His buddy said the attack took locate at 6.30 promethium, but Hakeem was playing in a nationally telecast game for his club Al-Shabab at the Al-Muharraq Stadium from 5.30 prime minister to 7.20 pm, with the Bahrain Football Association, the Al-Shabab golf club and fellow players confirming this. footage from the crippled air by Bahrain Sports Channel 1 showing al-Araibi play was besides submitted. however pursuance said that the mob had gathered earlier and the assail had taken identify at 8 promethium and that Hakeem would have had enough meter to leave the stadium after finishing the match and take partially in it 40 minutes by and by. [ 1 ] The Al Khamees police station is 20 kilometer southwest of the stadium, across on the early side of the city, and it was a Saturday night. [ 4 ] The stallion subject being brought by Bahrain is based on the alleged confession by his brother Emad to Bahraini police, which led to Emad ‘s captivity. BIRD has said that Emad ‘s testimony was obtained through physical and psychological duress. [ 1 ]
mental hospital and liveliness in Australia [edit ]
Al-Araibi took his opportunity to flee the area when out on bail and dally football for the home team in 2013 in Qatar. [ 12 ] He fled inaugural to Iran, then Malaysia, then Thailand and finally, about six months subsequently, to Australia where he sought refuge in May 2014. [ 1 ] Since then, he has lived in Melbourne, marrying his wife ( whom he had known since he was 17 ) and playing semi-professional football. [ 7 ] [ 13 ] He was granted refugee condition in Australia in 2017, [ 6 ] which allowed him to travel with documentation and the assurance of protection. [ 1 ] He has played as a defender in several semi-professional football teams in Victoria, his current team being Pascoe Vale FC in Melbourne. [ 13 ] [ 14 ]
Speaking up about torment in Bahrain [edit ]
Speaking to external media from Australia in 2016, al-Araibi said that Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, a member of Bahrain ‘s predominate royal family and then running for president of FIFA, should be investigated for possible participation in the mass torment of pro-democracy athletes who had protested against the imperial family during the 2011 arise. [ 14 ] Al-Araibi besides accused Sheikh Salman of discriminating against Shia Muslims. Salman lost his command for the FIFA presidency, but remains president of the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) and is still a FIFA vice-president. [ 14 ]
After rejoinder from Thailand : february 2019 [edit ]
On 27 February 2019 al-Araibi order of his ordeal in The Guardian, expressing his gratitude to all concerned for helping to secure his liberation and his relief at his refund, but besides of his belief that Bahrain will continue to pursue him. He besides wrote of several cases of Bahrain ‘s pervert of human rights, including the detention of activist Najah Yusuf and jujutsu ace Mohamed Mirza, and his belief in the ability of sports bodies to apply effective atmospheric pressure to bring about change. [ 15 ]
detention in Thailand [edit ]
Al-Araibi and his wife flew to Thailand on 27 November 2018 for a belated honeymoon, but both were detained upon arrival at Bangkok ‘s Suvarnabhumi Airport, [ 6 ] [ 16 ] at the request of Bahraini authorities, [ 3 ] and in response to an Interpol crimson notice. [ 16 ] The couple were moved to the Suan Plu immigration detention concentrate on 2 December. [ 6 ] Al-Araibi ‘s wife was later released and he was moved to Bangkok Remand Prison. [ 17 ] Questions about the function of the australian Federal Police in his collar were raised after it was reported that the AFP, working as locally based Interpol, had notified Thailand of his arrival and did not flag his refugee status. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ] however, this was denied in a former imperativeness argument given by the australian government, which said that by Bahrain had issued the Red Notice on 8 November 2018. The instruction said that on 30 November Interpol rescinded the Red Notice, which had been issued mistakenly and contrary to Interpol ‘s rules regarding refugees and asylum-seekers, upon advice from Australia. [ 7 ] [ 17 ] On 4 February 2019 al-Araibi arrived at the Bangkok court with his feet shackled together in front of many international supporters and news cameras, begging not to be sent back to Bahrain. [ 1 ] however the Thai attorney-general ‘s office ruled that Bahrain had a legalize “ criminal ” case, and the court granted him 60 days, until 5 April, to submit his legal defense to stop his extradition to the nation of his birth. [ 9 ] [ 21 ] He would have to remain in a Thai prison until his next court appearance on 22 April, after he was denied bail, [ 1 ] when decisions would be made on permissible witnesses and the length of the extradition hearing. [ 9 ] Al-Araibi ‘s lawyer, Nadthasiri Bergman, said that it was “ clearly a political font ”. On 11 February, he was released after Thai prosecutors dropped the case, arriving in Australia the adopt day. [ 22 ] He was granted australian citizenship one month late, on 12 March 2019 .
Local and external campaigns and other responses [edit ]
In response to al-Araibi ‘s detention, Amnesty International, who have criticised the low degree of homo rights in Bahrain, pointed out that under external law, it is prohibited to return an individual to a territory when there is a reasonable fear that the individual will be at real number risk of suffering agony or other dangerous human rights violations. [ 6 ] Refoulement is considered a grave gap of a fundamental international human rights law. [ 14 ] His sheath was widely reported on major news outlets throughout the populace, [ 13 ] [ 23 ] [ 24 ] [ 25 ] and was compared to that of Saudi Arabian woman Rahaf Mohammed, [ 3 ] [ 26 ] who was detained in Bangkok on 5 January 2019 at the request of Saudi authorities after fleeing the nation, but released after criticism on social media and United Nations intervention, after being granted refuge in Canada. [ 27 ]
Read more: Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
Amnesty International Australia created a “ Write for Rights ” campaign for individuals to email Thai officials via their web site, attracting 53,218 signatories as at 4 February 2019. [ 28 ] The australian government, Football Federation Australia ( FFA ), Professional Footballers Australia ( PFA ), and FIFA [ 9 ] all called for his exhaust and return to Australia. [ 13 ] [ 26 ] FIFA called for al-Araibi ‘s return to Australia in early December 2018 in communications with the FFA ( although did not issue a media statement until January ), and the FFA called for his reelect to Australia on 10 December. [ 14 ] Craig Foster, retired australian master, SBS Australia foreman football analyst and PFA representative, campaigned on al-Araibi ‘s behalf since news break of his detention. He travelled to Switzerland to present a petition with more than 50,000 signatures demanding the dismissal of the delay football player and held talks with general secretary Fatma Samoura FIFA on 29 January 2019. He besides spent time in Thailand speaking to al-Araibi ‘s legal team and visited al-Araibi in prison. [ 29 ] Foster ‘s many tweets on the topic were widely shared [ 30 ] and the hashtag #SaveHakeem has been trending on social media platforms. [ 31 ] Foster was joined in Thailand by Francis Awaritefe, former Australian football player, past Director of Football at Melbourne Victory and vice-president of FIFPro ( International Federation of Professional Footballers ), [ 1 ] Awaritefe, who said on 4 February that the australian government had done a good caper so far, but more needed to be done. Foster said that football sanctions should be imposed on Thailand and Bahrain. [ 9 ] australian football teams joined Pascoe Vale FC club in calling for his release, staging protests, wearing armbands and stopping for a minute ‘s applause at A-League games around the country. [ 7 ] On 28 January 2019, Thai FA Cup champions football cabaret Chiangrai United F.C. became the first Thai cabaret to publicly support the delay football player, club president Mitti Tiyapairat posting on the club ‘s Facebook page and calling on its supporters to demand the Thai government meet its external obligations. [ 32 ] On 29 January 2019 the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) called for al-Araibi ‘s release, after being criticised for its inaction, although Sheikh Salman made no public affirmation himself. [ 7 ] [ 24 ] The electric chair of Football Federation Australia has been seeking a identify on the executive of the AFC. [ 7 ] On 4 February 2019, international football stars Didier Drogba and Jamie Vardy tweeted their confirm. [ 21 ] After the Bangkok court ‘s judgment on 4 February, Australia ‘s ambassador-designate in Thailand, Allan McKinnon, urged the Thai Prime Minister to allow al-Araibi to return to Australia, saying that he had the power to intervene and release him at any time and should do so. besides present outside the court were ambassadors and representatives from the US and European Union countries and FIFA, a well as human rights groups and advocates for al-Araibi. Representatives of 14 countries attended the hearing. [ 9 ] The London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy ( BIRD ) disagreed with Thailand ‘s decisiveness and his conviction in absentia to 10 years ’ jail by Bahrain, saying that the documentation of al-Araibi ‘s trial was fully of “ flaws and contradictions ”. [ 1 ] On 6 February 2019, in the inaugural exemplify of sporting sanctions, Australia ‘s Under-23s Olyroos ‘ pre-tournament camp to Thailand was cancelled by the FFA and alternatives were sought. [ 33 ] besides on 6 February 2019, TwitterSports tweeted a snapshot of Trendsmap showing that there had been about 1 Million #SaveHakeem tweets from all over the world, showing a high concentration in Thailand. [ 34 ] On 7 February 2019, a alliance of 57 Thai human rights and civil liberties groups, academics and leadership legal figures called on the Thai politics to release al-Araibi, citing the political character of the charges and the “ persecution, distortion, barbarous discussion or a dangerous site ” to which al-Araibi may be national if he is extradited. [ 35 ]
australian government responses [edit ]
In early December 2018, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that she had raised the matter with her Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, requesting that Al-Araibi be allowed to return to Melbourne american samoa soon as possible. [ 36 ] His condition as a permanent resident allows him to remain in Australia indefinitely and to travel abroad, so long as he does not travel to Bahrain. [ 37 ] On 30 January 2019 it was reported that australian choice curate Scott Morrison had called upon his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha a few days earlier in a letter, stressing that al-Araibi had been issued a permanent protection visa by Australia after a consider and considered process and that returning the football player to Bahrain would infringe his rights under external homo rights law. In recently January, the office of Marise Payne said that her politics was making “ extensive efforts ” on behalf of al-Araibi. [ 24 ] On 5 February 2019 the australian government urged Thailand to exercise its legal discretion to free the football player, saying “ Thailand ‘s office of the Attorney-General has publicly confirmed that Thailand ‘s Extradition Act allows for administrator delicacy in such cases. This was besides confirmed by the prosecutor in the context of yesterday ‘s listening. “. [ 20 ] On 7 February 2019, in reply to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘ crush passing on 6 February and Deputy Permanent Secretary Thani Thongpakdi ‘s statements earlier in the day on 7 February, the australian government issued a instruction saying that “ Australia never issued a crimson Notice against Mr Alaraibi. This red Notice was issued by Bahrain on 8 November 2018. ” It went on to say that the Red Notice should never have been issued because of his condition as a protected refugee ; this was a breach of Interpol ‘s regulations. The australian politics not initially being mindful of this, in line with routine notified Thailand of his travel. When they had become aware of the situation, they ensured the Red Notice was rescinded arsenic soon as potential, on 30 November. australian politics representatives had said unambiguously on many occasions that al-Araibi should be returned to Australia angstrom soon as possible. ” [ 17 ]
thai government responses [edit ]
On 5 February 2019, Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha broke his secrecy on the issue, telling reporters not to “ jump to conclusions ” regarding the verdict and not to politicise the publish, commenting that the Foreign Ministry was working with both Australia and Bahrain to find a solution. [ 38 ] Foreign minister Don Pramudwinai said Australia and Bahrain should negotiate a solution, with Thailand fix to mediate, and that “ for now Hakeem will be under the care of Thai authorities ”. [ 39 ] Australian PM Scott Morrison said that he had received a answer to his letter to Mr Chan-ocha, but had written to him again after being disturbed at the appearance of al-Araibi in shackles at the hearing the day before. The head of Thailand ‘s prisons defended the decision to use branch restraints, after photos and video of al-Araibi in chains and prison dress dominated local media discussion panels. [ 38 ] On 6 February, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an eight-point bid unblock, stressing Thailand ‘s function as a disinterested party which had unwittingly become tangled in a dispute between Australia and Bahrain, but which as a autonomous country has “ legal obligations and commitments to the external community ”. It expressed the hope that “ Australia and Bahrain will have the good will to seriously work in concert towards finding a win-win solution to this issue ”. [ 19 ] On 7 February, MFA deputy permanent wave repository Thani Thongpakdi said the australian outgrowth of Interpol had emailed the Thailand and Bahraini branches in the good morning of 27 November to alert them to the fact that Araibi was travelling to Bangkok was subject to a Red Notice. Later that day the Thais had received a note from the Bahraini embassy informing them similarly that al-Araibi would soon be arriving in Thailand and that he had a Red Notice, and seeking their cooperation. Thongpakdi said that the Red Notice had been issued by Bahrain in August 2018. He besides said that it was possible for the Thai Prime Minister to intervene in the case, but only after the extradition request has gone through court and all appeals had been exhausted. [ 17 ]
Bahraini government responses [edit ]
Bahrain has said little publicly about the case, but inside curate Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa issued a statement condemning external hindrance in the internal affairs of Bahrain, [ 1 ] saying that critics of Bahraini courts should remember that al-Araibi was released on bail and allowed to travel to Qatar to play for the national team .
kinship between Thailand and Bahrain [edit ]
Thailand is not a signer to the 1951 Refugee Convention, has a history of returning alleged criminals to their countries of origin, and has potent economic links with Bahrain. [ 21 ] Academics and human rights groups raised the publish of the identical close ties between the two countries, both financially and between the two royal families. political leaders from each country, as part of a joint perpetration aimed at strengthening cooperation between their nations, last meet in August 2018. [ 40 ] According to Dr Aim Sinpeng, an expert in South-East asian politics at the University of Sydney, the Thai and Bahraini royal families have always had a close relationship and the Bahraini royal kin visits Thailand every year. He believes Thailand was stuck in a “ no win ” situation over Al-Arabi ‘s detention, adding that Australia and Thailand besides share close ties. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Surapong Tovichakchaikul had said in 2012 that the kinship between Thailand and Bahrain “ was very conclude and strong ” and besides disclosed Bahrain Prime Minister was a “ near personal friend ” of erstwhile Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and had “ donated approximately $ 2 million of his own money ” to Thailand for flood relief. [ 40 ]
Read more: Sevilla FC
The latest new business venture between the two countries is a new 6,700-square-metre ( 72,000 sq foot ) Thai shopping center in Manama, set to launch in the first half of 2019 and described as an opportunity for Thai modest and medium-sized enterprises to reach a huge potential market of Saudi shoppers, [ 40 ] said to be the biggest economic concentrate in Bahrain, with import and exports between the two countries expected to be deserving around US $ 400m annually. [ 41 ] [ 42 ]
exemption and consequence [edit ]
On 11 February 2019 it was announced by the Thai Office of the Attorney-General ( OAG ) [ 43 ] that the extradition lawsuit against Al-Araibi had been dropped by the condemnable court at Bahrain ‘s request. No cause was given by the foreign ministry, but the decision was made under Section 21 of the Prosecution Act, which allows for cases to be dropped if not in the populace pastime, and he would be released and allowed to return to Australia a soon as possible. [ 44 ] He was subsequently placed on a flight to Melbourne, landing there on 12 February and being welcomed by a huge crowd. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] On 18 February, the AFP and Home Affairs Assistant Minister Linda Reynolds were questioned in a Senate estimates hearing about the circumstances leading to al-Arabi ‘s detention. Reynolds said that the outdated system for Interpol notices caused the check in Home Affairs notifying the AFP of Al-Araibi ‘s refugee condition. AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin defended his staff, saying that the australian Interpol NCB ( National Central Bureau ) adhered to the policies and procedures of Interpol, but that reviews were being undertaken to improve inter-agency co-ordination and reduce similar incidents in the future. He said that the NCB acted within 24 hours to rescind Interpol ‘s loss poster once it became mindful of Mr Al-Araibi ‘s status, and the Red Notice against Al-Araibi would never have been issued in the foremost plaza if they had known he was a refugee. [ 47 ]