30 Facts About Hakeem al-Araibi

Hakeem Ali Mohammed Ali al-Araibi is a Bahraini footballer who plays for St Albans Saints.

Hakeem al-Araibi played for local club Al-Shabab and in the Bahraini national team before he fled as a dissident and refugee when the team was in Qatar in January 2014.

Hakeem al-Araibi has played for various teams in Victoria since 2015, and since 2022 has played for St Albans Saints in NPL Victoria.

Hakeem al-Araibi holds a permanent position as Community and Human Rights Advocate with Football Victoria.

Hakeem al-Araibi was held there pending deportation to Bahrain, which he opposed.

Hakeem al-Araibi was returned to Australia the next day and became an Australian citizen shortly afterwards.

Hakeem Ali Mohammed Ali al-Araibi was born in Bahrain on 7 November 1993.

Hakeem al-Araibi became a professional footballer there, playing as a defender for the Bahrain national football team and for local Manama club Al-Shabab.

Hakeem al-Araibi was overjoyed, and saw the national teams as symbols of unity between the Shia and Sunni populations of the country.

Hakeem al-Araibi has a brother, Emad, who is as of February 2019 imprisoned in Bahrain for the same offence as that with which Hakeem is being charged.

The alleged vandalism was said to have taken place at around the time that Hakeem al-Araibi was playing in a televised football match.

Hakeem al-Araibi fled first to Iran, then Malaysia, then Thailand and eventually, nearly six months later, to Australia where he sought asylum in May 2014.

Hakeem al-Araibi was granted refugee status in Australia in 2017, which allowed him to travel with documentation and the assurance of protection.

Hakeem al-Araibi has played as a defender in several semi-professional football teams in Victoria.

On 27 February 2019 Hakeem al-Araibi told of his ordeal in The Guardian, expressing his gratitude to all concerned for helping to secure his release and his relief at his return, but of his belief that Bahrain will continue to pursue him.

Hakeem al-Araibi wrote of several cases of Bahrain's abuse of human rights, including the detention of activist Najah Yusuf and jiujitsu champion Mohamed Mirza, and his belief in the ability of sports bodies to apply effective pressure to bring about change.

On 4 February 2019 Hakeem al-Araibi arrived at the Bangkok court with his feet shackled together in front of many international supporters and news cameras, begging not to be sent back to Bahrain.

Hakeem al-Araibi was granted Australian citizenship one month later, on 12 March 2019.

Hakeem al-Araibi's case was widely reported on major news outlets throughout the world, and was compared to that of Saudi Arabian woman Rahaf Mohammed, who was detained in Bangkok on 5 January 2019 at the request of Saudi authorities after fleeing the country, but released after criticism on social media and United Nations intervention, after being granted asylum in Canada.

Hakeem al-Araibi travelled to Switzerland to present a petition with more than 50,000 signatures demanding the release of the detained footballer and held talks with general secretary Fatma Samoura FIFA on 29 January 2019.

Hakeem al-Araibi spent time in Thailand speaking to al-Araibi's legal team and visited al-Araibi in prison.

The London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy disagreed with Thailand's decision and his conviction in absentia to 10 years' jail by Bahrain, saying that the documentation of Hakeem al-Araibi's trial was full of "flaws and contradictions".

On 7 February 2019, a coalition of 57 Thai human rights and civil liberties groups, academics and leading legal figures called on the Thai government to release Hakeem al-Araibi, citing the political character of the charges and the "persecution, torture, cruel treatment or a life-threatening situation" to which Hakeem al-Araibi may be subject if he is extradited.

On 30 January 2019, it was reported that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had called upon his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha a few days earlier in a letter, stressing that Hakeem al-Araibi had been issued a permanent protection visa by Australia after a deliberate and considered process and that returning the footballer to Bahrain would infringe his rights under international human rights law.

Australian government representatives had said unequivocally on many occasions that Hakeem al-Araibi should be returned to Australia as soon as possible.

Foreign minister Don Pramudwinai said Australia and Bahrain should negotiate a solution, with Thailand ready to mediate, and that "for now Hakeem al-Araibi will be under the care of Thai authorities".

Hakeem al-Araibi said that it was possible for the Thai Prime Minister to intervene in the case, but only after the extradition request has gone through court and all appeals had been exhausted.

Bahrain has said little publicly about the case, but interior minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa issued a statement condemning external interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain, saying that critics of Bahraini courts should remember that Hakeem al-Araibi was released on bail and allowed to travel to Qatar to play for the national team.

Hakeem al-Araibi believes Thailand was stuck in a "no win" situation over Al-Arabi's detention, adding that Australia and Thailand share close ties.

Hakeem al-Araibi said that the NCB acted within 24 hours to rescind Interpol's red notice once it became aware of Mr Al-Araibi's status, and the Red Notice against Al-Araibi would never have been issued in the first place if they had known he was a refugee.