Human Rights Groups Call For Release of Australian Refugee Footballer
Hakeem al-Araibi, the Melbourne based refugee, and elite soccer player was arrested at Bangkok airport after stepping off a plane en-route to holiday with his wife. His arrest followed the issue of an Interpol red notice from the Kingdom of Bahrain, his native country. The notice requested his immediate arrest and extradition to Bahrain where he faces the charge of vandalism to a police station, during the 2012 Arab Spring.
The Interpol red notice was subsequently withdrawn as allegations arose that the notice against al-Araibi was against official Interpol regulation.
However, al-Araibi remains imprisoned in Thailand as the Thai government extending his detention for another 60-90 days.
We were joined by Fatima Yazbek from the Gulf Institute of Democracy and Human Rights, a human rights group supporting the release of al-Araibi, to learn more about the situation.
