Refugee footballer Hakeem Al-Araibi freed from Thai jail

Hakeem Al-Araibi has won his fight for freedom and will return to Australia, after the Thai attorney-general requested extradition to Bahrain be dropped.

Hakeem al-Araibi has won his right to freedom. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

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THE refugee footballer at the centre of a global campaign to prevent his deportation to Bahrain will be back in Australia within hours after Thai authorities announced they had ordered his immediate release.

Hakeem Al-Araibi, who was granted refugee status in Australia and given permanent residency after previously being tortured in Bahrain, is expected to fly home to his wife immediately, sparking delight among those who had led the campaign for his release.

A Thai Court discontinued Bahrain’s extradition request for Al-Araibi, after intense lobbying and advocacy led by former Socceroo Craig Foster in the weeks since the 25-year-old’s arrest in November.

Hakeem al-Araibi will be allowed to return to Australia. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Foster revealed the news on social media on Monday evening, adding on Twitter: “My thanks go to the wonderful people of Thailand for your support and to Thai Govt for upholding international law. My deepest gratitude. Also to everyone who stood for what’s right.

“Many wonderful people stepped forward to help Hakeem. They all deserve to be in front of camera now, not only me. I can’t list them, but will thank each of them in time. My thoughts are with Hakeem’s wife. Her nightmare will shortly be at an end. Our prayers answered.”

Al-Araibi, who has been playing for Victorian team Pascoe Vale, was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison in Bahrain for vandalising a police station, even though he was playing in a broadcast football match at the time he was alleged to have planned the attack.

The former Bahraini international has been fiercely critical of the country’s royal family since moving to Australia, and feared he would be tortured or worse if he was forcibly returned there.

We understand that @prayutofficial Govt and court has ruled to release Hakeem. My thanks go to the wonderful people of Thailand for your support and to Thai Govt for upholding international law. My deepest gratitude. Also to everyone who stood for what’s right 👏 #Hakeemhome

— Craig Foster (@Craig_Foster) February 11, 2019

Most important thing now is Hakeem’s immediate wellbeing. Sure Embassy staff will take care of him, there’ll be tears there tonight, as there are in our household right now. Going to take some moments to thank as many of the incredible people involved as possible ✊ #SaveHakeem

— Craig Foster (@Craig_Foster) February 11, 2019

Al-Araibi was arrested in Bangkok while on honeymoon, and a global campaign for his release had taken in high-profile footballers including Gary Lineker and Didier Drogba, as well as tens of thousands of Australians who signed petitions in his support.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison had become a vocal proponent of Al-Araibi’s release, while Australians of the Year Dr Richard Harrison and Craig Challen – who helped to lead the rescue of a Thai children’s soccer team from dangerous caves – also wrote to the Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, urging him to intervene.

Fears had grown that the Thai government would refuse to buckle to outside pressure, given extensive commercial interests between it and Bahrain, but Chatchom Akapin, the director general of the Thai attorney general office’s international affairs department, told reporters that Bahrain had withdrawn its request for al-Araibi.

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Originally published as Refugee footballer Hakeem Al-Araibi freed from Thai jail