Manama wants the extradition of footballer Hakeem al-Araibi, stuck in Bangkok
For activists, the 25-year-old’s case is "an absolute emergency". He was sentenced in absentia to 10 years for vandalism. The player rejects the accusations, which he says are politically motivated. Yesterday, the Supreme Court definitively confirmed life imprisonment for the Shiite opposition leader Ali Salman.
Bangkok (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The story of Bahrain dissident footballer Hakeem al-Araibi "has become an absolute emergency": The 25-year-old enjoys refugee status in Australia after leaving his country of origin in 2014 because he is under threat of arrest. However, since November 27 he has been held by the Thai authorities at Bangkok International Airport - a story similar to the young Saudi Rahaf - where he had come on his honeymoon.
Former Australia captain Craig Foster, who is coordinating diplomatic efforts for al-Araibi's release, met yesterday with FIFA leaders, the world's largest football body. He raised the alarm by stressing that Manama is stepping up pressure for his extraction and "the situation is likely to become of grave concern”.
The Arab kingdom confirms that the operations aimed at extradition "are at a good point". In a statement, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa points to "external influences in Bahrain's internal affairs"; a fact that he defines as "unacceptable".
Al-Araibi fled to Australia in 2014, where he was granted political asylum three years later. He plays for the Pascoe Vale in Melbourne.
Also in 2014, the young man was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison for acts of vandalism against a police station. Allegations that the player rejects and believes politically motivated. The activists of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird) affirm that he is "in grave danger of torture in case of deportation".
The former Australia captain says that FIFA should threaten sanctions or retaliation against Bahrain and Thailand in case of the player’s deportation. In 2017 the highest body of football adopted a policy based on respect for human rights, which, however, it is struggling to apply in practice.
Other former internationally renowned colleagues have come to the defense of the Bahrain player, including former England striker Gary Lineker who has relaunched the #SaveHakeem campaign on twitter. A petition calling for his release has so far reached 50,000 signatures.
Bahrain is a Gulf monarchy governed by a Sunni dynasty in a country where the majority of the population (at least 60-70%) is Shiite and has long called for constitutional changes and social and economic rights. In 2011, in the wake of the Arab spring, there were riots that the king -allied to Washington and supported by Riyadh - quashed with troops sent from Saudi Arabia.
In recent years, the authorities have arrested and condemned Shiite activists and religious leaders and suspended the activities of Al-Wefaq, the main Shiite opposition group. The accusation is of "terrorism, extremism and violence" as well as links with a foreign power (read Iran). The executioner has also been active: several young men were executed in front of a firing squad for (self-proclaimed) anti-government activities.
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