Thai court orders release of Bahrain refugee soccer player
A Thai court ordered the release of a refugee soccer player
on Monday after prosecutors said they were no longer seeking his extradition to
Bahrain in a case that had drawn worldwide attention, according to AP.
Thailand had come under great pressure from Australia’s
government, sporting bodies and human rights groups to send Hakeem al-Araibi
back to Australia, where he has refugee status and plays semi-professional
soccer.
Australian Prime Minister praised the decision and said late
Monday that al-Araibi was on his way to the airport.
“Now the next step is for him to return home,” Morrison told
reporters in Canberra. “But as is always in these cases, people aren’t home
until they’re home.
Thai prosecutors on Monday submitted to court a request to
withdraw the case to extradite al-Araibi to Bahrain, where he faces a 10-year
prison sentence for an arson attack that damaged a police station. He has
denied those charges and says the case is politically motivated.
Prosecutors made the decision after Thailand’s foreign
ministry sent their department a letter Monday morning that indicated that
Bahrain had withdrawn its request for al-Araibi, said Chatchom Akapin, the
director general of the attorney general office’s international affairs
department
Officials in Bahrain, an island kingdom off the coast of
Saudi Arabia that’s home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, said the country
“reaffirms its right to pursue all necessary legal actions against” al-Araibi.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after his
release that the “guilty verdict against Mr. al-Araibi remains in place and Mr.
al-Araibi holds the right to appeal this court verdict at Bahrain’s Court of
Appeal.”
It did not elaborate.
Al-Araibi, 25, a former Bahraini national team player, says
he fled Bahrain due to political repression and that he fears torture if he
returns. He has been living in Melbourne, where he plays for a
semi-professional soccer team.
He has said he was blindfolded and had his legs beaten while
he was held in Bahrain previously. He said he believed he was targeted for
arrest because of his Shiite faith and because his brother was politically
active in Bahrain. Bahrain has a Shiite majority but is ruled by a Sunni
monarchy.
His supporters had said he should be freed and was protected
under his status as a refugee with Australian residency. He was detained at the
request of Bahrain relayed through Interpol upon his arrival in Bangkok in
November while on honeymoon with his wife.
Activists praised Monday’s developments.
“This is a huge victory for the human rights movement in
Bahrain, Thailand and Australia — and even the whole world,” said Sayed
Alwadaei, the director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and
Democracy. “Hakeem’s ordeal ended after 70 days when there was a clear public
stance and solidarity movement.”
Former Australia national team captain Craig Foster, who has
been leading the campaign for al-Araibi’s release, praised all those who worked
on the campaign.
“Many wonderful people stepped forward to help Hakeem,” he
wrote Monday in comments on Twitter. “They all deserve to be in front of camera
now, not only me. I can’t list them, but will thank each of them in time. My
thoughts are with Hakeem’s wife. Her nightmare will shortly be at an end. Our
prayers answered.”
It was not immediately clear what prompted Bahrain to
withdraw its request.
The state-run Bahrain News Agency reported Sunday that Prime
Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa had a phone call with Thai Prime
Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, but offered no specifics on their discussions.
Separately, BNA said Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad
Al Khalifa met Sunday with Thailand’s foreign minister who was visiting the
island. Again, no specifics on their talks was offered.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement last week
that al-Araibi was detained because Australian authorities had forwarded them
an Interpol Red Notice that Bahrain was seeking his arrest. Australian police
acknowledge doing so, but there have been questions raised about why the Red
Notice appeared to have been issued just before al-Araibi departed on his trip,
and whether Bahraini authorities had been tipped off about his travel plans.
Morrison, the Australian prime minister, had in recent weeks
has spoken out strongly on behalf of al-Araibi’s freedom.
In his comments Monday, he said he appreciated the work of
all involved in securing al-Araibi’s release.
“What we would like to do tonight is to thank and show our
appreciation to the Thai government for the decision that they have taken
today,” he said. “We greatly respect the process that they have had to work
through and we greatly appreciate their listening to the issues that have been
raised by our government and many others who have raised this case.”