Amid mounting global scrutiny, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday told reporters that the Thai Court of Justice is currently evaluating the “complicated” case of Bahraini refugee and current Australian resident Hakeem Alaraibi.
After a cabinet meeting yesterday, the junta chief addressed for the first time the many international calls to release the refugee footballer — including from FIFA, the Bahrain government, the International Olympic Committee, and, most recently, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Prayut confirmed they had received an official extradition request from Bahrain — where Alaraibi is wanted for allegedly taking part in the burning down of a police station in a 2012 protest — and that the case had been forward to prosecutors.
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“We’ve already started the process and the case is now being evaluated… we can’t rush Thai officials, because they have to follow the law in every aspect. However, Thailand has good relations with Bahrain and FIFA,” he said, reported Khaosod.
“I understand everyone’s concerns,” he said, adding that it is a complicated situation.
Seeing the situation as considerably less complicated is Human Rights Watch Asia director Brad Adams, who told the Associated Press it would be a “huge mistake” for Thailand to extradite Alaraibi as “global opinion and international law are clearly opposed to this rights-violating move.”
Alaraibi, 25, who played for the Gulf state’s national youth team, was sentenced to 10 years in jail in Bahrain for his alleged role in the 2012 police station fire.
He denied any wrongdoing, insisting that he was playing in a match at the time of the incident for which he was found guilty. He ultimately fled the country while on bail in 2013 and has since been granted asylum in Australia.
Alaraibi was detained upon entering Thailand for a vacation with his wife in late November. Interpol has faced criticism for initially issuing the red notice for his arrest, which it later withdrew.
A small island nation allied with the US and located between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, the kingdom of Bahrain has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed Shiite-led protests demanding an elected prime minister.
Chatchom Akapin, director general of Thailand’s International Affairs Department, said a decision can be expected within a week.
The scrutiny surrounding the Alaraibi case comes only weeks after Thai immigration officials were thrust into the spotlight when a young Saudi Arabian woman, 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed Mutlaq Alqunun, fleeing alleged abuse at the hands of her family, barricaded herself inside a transit hotel room at at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.
After first appearing to be acquiescent in her return to her family (then in Kuwait), Thai authorities eventually said she would not be handed over. She has since been granted asylum in Canada.
Additional reporting by AFP.
