A REFUGEE Bahraini footballer who was held in a Thai prison for more than two months at the Gulf state’s request arrived in his adoptive home Australia on Tuesday, television pictures showed, to cheers and the great relief of his wife. Hakeem al Araibi, 25, who fled Bahrain in 2014 and received refugee status in Australia, was released from prison in Bangkok on Monday. Authorities in Bahrain accused Araibi of crimes committed during the Arab Spring protests of 2011, charges which he denied.

“Australia is my country. I don’t have citizenship yet, but my country is Australia ... I love Australia, I will die in Australia,” Araibi said after he disembarked in Melbourne airport from a Thai Airways flight. Hundreds of supporters clamoured to embrace him, TV footage showed, and cheered “Welcome home, Hakeem!” He wore the colours of Pascoe Vale, the semi-professional team he plays for in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city. “Finally, this nightmare has ended,” Araibi’s wife said in a statement. Newlywed Araibi went to Thailand for his honeymoon but was arrested upon arrival in Bangkok in November, following an Interpol “red notice” issued at Bahrain’s request and brought to Thailand’s attention by Australian police. He had been convicted of vandalising a police station in Bahrain and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in absentia. Araibi has denied any wrongdoing, saying that he was playing in a televised match at the time the offence was committed, and was granted asylum in Australia in 2017. Bahrain, however, sought his extradition from Thailand. He was freed after nearly three months of high-drama diplomacy, legal manoeuvring by the governments of Australia, Thailand and Bahrain, and a loud public campaign by footballers and human rights activists.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison twice wrote to his Thai counterpart to urge Araibi’s release, while Foreign Minister Marise Payne travelled to Bangkok to press for his freedom. Bahrain halted its extradition bid on Monday, while reserving the right to pursue further action against Araibi. Craig Foster, a former Australian soccer captain, also led efforts and drew support from Australia’s leading goal scorer, Tim Cahill, and former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2019