‘Let us scream, cry ... and #SaveHakeem’ – activists to fight on as Thailand moves to extradite refugee player to Bahrain
- Rallies in Sydney and Melbourne are held on the same day as the Asian Cup final to plea for Bahraini’s release
- Thai authorities set a Monday court date to ask if he is willing to be sent back to Bahrain
Supporters of jailed refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi are refusing to give up the fight after Thai prosecutors on Friday submitted a request in court for Thailand to extradite him to Bahrain, where he fears imprisonment and torture.
Al-Araibi, a former player on Bahrain’s national team, has said he fled his home country because of political repression and was granted asylum in Australia in 2017. Bahrain wants him returned to serve a 10-year prison sentence he received in absentia in 2014 for vandalising a police station, which he denies.
Craig Foster, a former Socceroos captain who is the public face of the #SaveHakeem campaign, made an impassioned plea for the world to do whatever they can to free the 25-year-old, who was arrested on an erroneous Interpol extradition notice in late November when he arrived in Bangkok for his honeymoon.
“Let us all scream, cry, do what you need to do then move on immediately,” said Foster on social media. “This is not unexpected, otherwise he’s not there for 66 days. We are up against horrible and unimaginable forces. Chins up, regroup, take a night, and fight! #SaveHakeem.
“The harder it gets, the better we become. That’s what sport teaches us, that pressure brings out our best. Each day we grow in size, in conviction, in belief in what’s right. Well done, let’s increase it exponentially.”
The court in Bangkok where the request was made set a Monday court date where Al-Araibi will be asked if he is willing to be extradited to Bahrain, said Chatchom Akapin, director general of the Thai office of the attorney general’s international affairs department, which submitted the request.
If Al-Araibi says he is willing to be sent to Bahrain, the court can order another 90-day detention while his extradition is processed, but if Al-Araibi refuses, a trial would be held, Chatchom said, adding that how long it lasts depends on how many witnesses are called on each side.
Nadthasiri Bergman, Al-Araibi’s lawyer, said she will file an appeal to the prosecutors’ request. She said she would wait to see who the prosecutors call up as witnesses before calling her own while she meticulously studies the prosecutor’s request to extradite.
Al-Araibi had been living in Melbourne, Australia, and played for a semi-professional team there. He was detained when he arrived in Bangkok for his honeymoon in November, and a court ruled in December that he could be held for 60 days.
Hakeem 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.
Also yesterday, hundreds of supporters turned up for rallies in Melbourne and Sydney to protest on the same day of the Asian Cup final in UAE. Foster, who only just return to Australia after visiting Fifa and Olympic officials in Europe, gave a passionate speech about how Australia must stand with Al-Araibi. There were protests expected to be held in Berlin, London and Canada as well.
The Thai prosecutors’ court filing noted that while Thailand and Bahrain do not have an extradition treaty, extradition is still possible by law if Bahrain makes an official request, which they did, and if the crime is punishable by over a year, is not politically motivated or a military violation.
Chatchom said he had received a letter from Australian prosecutors indicating that Al-Araibi has refugee status in Australia but, he said, he must “consider all the facts in the case” and that Al-Araibi can also present such evidence to the court.
Chatchom said administrators of the Thai government have not intervened in the case but he had received a letter from Thailand’s foreign ministry that stated only that the case could affect international relations.
The rallies focused on Thailand and Indonesia’s proposed joint bid for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to host the World Cup in 2034.
“You cannot have the privileges of the international community if you are not prepared to live by its rules or behave by its standards,” said John Didulica, Professional Footballers Australia chief executive.
