Thailand Blames Australia for Arrest of Bahraini Refugee Footballer, According to Reuters

By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um

BANGKOK – Thailand defended its decision to arrest Bahraini footballer Hakeem Al Araibi on Wednesday, asserting that officials acted upon an Interpol “red notice” issued by Australian authorities after he boarded a flight to Bangkok.

Al Araibi’s situation has garnered international attention as a Thai court reviews Bahrain’s extradition request for him to serve a 10-year term linked to the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, which he denies being involved in.

The 25-year-old was taken into custody at a Bangkok airport in November upon arriving from Australia, where he was on honeymoon with his wife.

Al Araibi fears he would face torture if returned to Bahrain and wishes to return to Australia, where he has lived since 2014 and plays for a local football club.

On Wednesday, Thailand’s foreign ministry characterized the case as a “custody contest” between two nations. It stated that Thailand’s involvement was unintentional, prompted by a notification from an Australian police bureau informing Thai authorities of Al Araibi’s flight to Bangkok and the accompanying red notice from Bahrain.

The ministry mentioned, “It took several days after Mr. Hakeem’s arrival for the Australian authorities to inform us that the red notice had been revoked. By then, legal proceedings in Thailand concerning Mr. Hakeem had already commenced and could not be undone.”

Al Araibi could remain in custody until August, as the court process is expected to take two to three months to reach a ruling after the next hearing scheduled for late April, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office stated. “Therefore, Hakeem will need to stay in custody until at least August unless Bahrain withdraws its request,” Trumph Jalichandra explained at a news conference.

His football club, Pascoe Vale, expressed their sorrow on social media: “Our hearts are broken… We registered him today for the 2019 season. He is No. 5 on the team sheet and his shirt is waiting.”

Australia’s Home Affairs office confirmed that federal police had alerted Thai authorities about the arrival of a person under a red notice but did not clarify whether they were aware that Al Araibi held refugee status.

Bahrain’s embassy in Bangkok referred to Al Araibi as a fugitive and insisted on his return, stating, “Mr. Al Araibi, like all defendants in criminal cases in Bahrain, is entitled to full legal rights and protections along with proper representation.”

On Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for Al Araibi’s release, expressing his distress upon seeing images of the footballer in shackles during a recent court appearance.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne also urged Thai officials to exercise their discretion, acknowledging Al Araibi’s status as a permanent resident in Australia and his pathway to citizenship. She encouraged Bahrain not to pursue the extradition and Thailand to exercise their available discretion.

Al Araibi was tried in absentia and sentenced for vandalizing a police station during 2011 protests in Bahrain; however, he maintains that he was participating in a televised soccer match at the time of the incident.

Human Rights Watch has reported that Al Araibi was tortured by Bahraini authorities due to his brother’s political activism during the 2011 demonstrations, a claim that Bahrain vehemently denies.