Bahrain has applied in Thailand officially, the extradition of the former football player Hakim Al-Araibi. The military government of the Southeast Asian Kingdom, confirmed Tuesday the receipt of the required documents. The 25-year-old Al-Araibi actually lives in Australia, where he is as a political refugee. To the requests of the Arab homeland, he was arrested at the end of November in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, where he wanted to catch up with his wife for the honeymoon.
The case has now attracted international attention. The international football Federation Fifa and the International Olympic Committee calling for Al-Araibis release. The footballer plays as a Semi-professional for the club in Pascoe Vale Melbourne. The extradition request will be examined in Thailand now, which can take months. A government spokeswoman left open, as the verification will fail. The final decision lies with a court.
Sentenced to ten years in prison
the Asian football Federation, AFC has spoken on the process. In a letter to Vice-President Praful Patel called on the Thai Prime Minister to “take the necessary steps to ensure that Mr Al-Araibi could safely return to Australia”. The AFC was advised in the matter under pressure, because the Bahraini President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa could be biased due to its Connections to the Royal house of his homeland. Al-Khalifa is in his role as AFC chief, also a Fifa Vice-President.
One of Al-Araibis lawyers, Nadthasiri Bergman, already announced, against the planned extradition of appeal. Currently, his client sits in jail. The footballer was sentenced in 2014 in Bahrain, an authoritarian Kingdom in the Persian Gulf, in absentia to ten years in prison. He should have in 2011 during the Arab uprisings of violence involved.
