Hakeem al-Araibi, a 25 year old former Bahraini footballer who has refugee status in Australia is fighting for extradition. He (Hakeem al-Araibi) told Thailand court that he does not want to be extradited to his country (Bahrain) for fear of his life. Bahrain requested the Thailand government to extradite him (Hakeem al-Araibi) so as to return and serve a ten year jail term for a crime he (Hakeem al-Araibi) denied committing. Hakeem al-Araibi pleaded with the Thai authorities on Monday, 4 February 2019 to release him so he can return to Australia where he holds refugee status. Scott Morrison (Australia’s prime minister) and FIFA have also appealled that Thailand release Hakeem al-Araibi and send him back to Australia.
Hakeem al-Araibi fled Bahrain in 2014, before being granted permanent residence in Australia where he played for Pascoe Vale (a second-tier football club in Melbourne). He was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in November 2017 while on honeymoon and had been held since then in Thailand prison at the request of the Bahrain government.
Source: Viewers Corner News.
