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Wednesday, February 06, 2019, 15:21
Thailand blames Australia for arrest of refugee footballer
By Agencies
Wednesday, February 06, 2019, 15:21 By Agencies

Bahraini Hakeem al-Araibi, center, leaves the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb 4, 2019. (SAKCHAI LALIT / AP)

BANGKOK/SYDNEY — Thailand defended on Wednesday its arrest of a Bahraini footballer with refugee status in Australia, saying officials only detained him because Australian authorities sent an Interpol "red notice" after he boarded a plane to Bangkok. 

Hakeem al-Araibi's case has drawn international criticism as a Thai court considers an extradition request from Bahrain for him to serve a 10-year sentence related to the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. He denies the charges. 

He was arrested at Bangkok's international airport in November when he flew from Australia to Thailand with his wife for a honeymoon. 

It took several days after the arrival of Mr Hakeem before the Australian authorities informed us that the red notice had been cancelled. By that time, legal proceedings in Thailand regarding Mr Hakeem had already started and could not be reversed.

Statement by Thailand's Foreign MInistry

Al-Araibi, 25, says he faces torture if returned to Bahrain. He says he only wants to return to Australia, where he has lived since 2014 and plays for a Melbourne football club. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called again on Tuesday for Araibi to be released and sent back to Australia, saying he was "disturbed" to see photos of Araibi in shackles as he arrived for a court hearing on Monday. At the hearing, al-Araibi told a the court that he refuses to be voluntarily extradited to Bahrain.

Al-Araibi will stay in custody until an April 22 trial to determine whether Thai authorities will send him to Bahrain or release him so he can return to Australia.

A chained al-Araibi yelled to reporters outside court as he was escorted by prison guards into Monday's hearing in Bangkok: "Please speak to Thailand, don't send me to Bahrain. Bahrain won't defend me."

READ MORE: Aussie PM urges Thailand to free detained refugee footballer

The Thai foreign ministry updated a statement on the case early on Wednesday, which it described as "involving two countries competing for Mr Hakeem's custody". 

It reads that Thailand only became involved "by chance" after a police bureau that handles Interpol matters in Australia notified Thai authorities that al-Araibi had boarded a flight to Bangkok and was the subject of a "red notice" initiated by Bahrain. 

"It took several days after the arrival of Mr Hakeem before the Australian authorities informed us that the red notice had been cancelled," the statement reads. 

"By that time, legal proceedings in Thailand regarding Mr Hakeem had already started and could not be reversed," it reads. 

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne called on Thai authorities to use their discretion in al-Araibi's case.

"Given ... that he is a permanent resident of our country, on the pathway to citizenship, we have encouraged the Bahraini government not to proceed with the extradition application, and we have encouraged the Thai government to exercise the discretion that they have available to them," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from Samoa. 

ALSO READ: Australia urges Thailand free refugee soccer player 

Australia's Home Affairs office confirmed in December that federal police had advised Thai authorities a person with a red notice was on the way to Thailand but did not say if the bureau was aware al-Araibi had refugee status. 

Thailand's attorney general is scheduled to hold a news briefing on the case later on Wednesday. 

Al-Araibi was convicted of vandalising a police station during 2011 anti-government protests in Bahrain and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in absentia after he fled. 

He denies the charges, saying he was playing in a televised soccer match at the time of the police station attack. 

New York-based Human Rights Watch has said al-Araibi was tortured by Bahraini authorities because of his brother's political activities during the Arab Spring uprising in 2011. 

Bahraini authorities deny allegations of torture.

Australia nixes game in Thailand, campaigns to free refugee

Australian soccer authorities have canceled a game in Thailand to protest the continued detention in Bangkok of a refugee player who is fighting extradition to Bahrain.

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.

Graham Arnold, Coach, Australia

Football Federation Australia announced Wednesday it had scrapped the game against China, a scheduled warmup ahead of next month's qualifiers for the Asian under-23 championships.

Former Australia national team captain Craig Foster and the Australian and international players' unions have been leading a campaign for the release of al-Araibi.

"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," Australia coach Graham Arnold said.

ALSO READ: Aussie PM urges Thailand to free detained refugee footballer

Al-Araibi's supporters have said he should be freed and is protected under his status as a refugee with Australian residency. Foster and the players unions' have called on the International Olympic Committee to consider sporting sanctions against Thailand and Bahrain.

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