Rohingya footballers plead for release of fellow refugee Hakeem al-Araibi – and lament the ‘hypocrisy’ of their plight
- Arakan Times Rohingya Football Club official Mohammed Faruk says they know what it is like to flee danger
- He calls on the world to recognise the status of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya stranded in Bangladesh
A group of football-loving Rohingya refugees have called on relevant authorities to free Hakeem al-Araibi – a Bahraini refugee who plays football – while at the same time slamming the “hypocrisy” that sees their people displaced and stateless.
Highlighting the case of Saudi Arabian Rahaf al-Qunun, who was granted asylum in Canada after she fled to Bangkok in fear of her life, Arakan Times Rohingya Football Club official Mohammed Faruk said he hoped the world can unite to win Araibi’s release and end the Rohingya suffering.
“As refugees ourselves, we know the kind of sacrifices Hakeem had to go through. We don’t want to go back to a place where our lives are in danger and Hakeem should not have to go through that anxiety. We hope he is released and can go back to Australia,” Kuala Lumpur-based Faruk told the South China Morning Post.
Araibi has spent more than 50 days in a Thai jail after being arrested in early November after arriving in Bangkok for his honeymoon on what turned out to be an invalid Interpol red notice that seeks his extradition to Bahrain, where he fears for his life.
The 25-year-old former Bahrain international is wanted by his country after being convicted for vandalism, a charge he denies. He fled the country in 2014 and was granted asylum in Australia, where he plays for Pascoe Vale in Melbourne.