The Australian government on Tuesday urged Thailand to exercise its legal discretion to free a refugee football player who lives and plays in Australia and told a Bangkok court that he refuses to be voluntarily extradited to Bahrain.
The Thai foreign minister, however, said Australia and Bahrain should resolve the issue in discussions between themselves.
Hakeem al-Araibi's rejection of voluntary extradition means a trial will be held to determine whether Thai authorities will send him to Bahrain, where he fears he is at risk of torture, or release him so he can return to Australia.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne reiterated her government's call for the Thai government to release Mr Araibi so he can return home to Australia.
“Mr Araibi is a refugee and a permanent resident of Australia and the government remains deeply concerned by his ongoing detention in Thailand,” she said.
Speaking on Tuesday at Government House, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said that well before Mr Araibi arrived in Thailand, Interpol’s Australian bureau had informed Thai police a “red notice” - reportedly since cancelled - had been issued for his arrest and that they had also received a request to detain him from Bahrain.
He said Thai police had merely followed procedure, that Australia and Bahrain should discuss the issue between themselves and that Thailand would be willing to facilitate that discussion.
A chained Araibi yelled to reporters outside court as he was escorted by prison guards into Monday's hearing: “Please speak to Thailand, don't send me to Bahrain. Bahrain won't defend me.”
Former Australia national football team captain Craig Foster, who has been lobbying for Mr Araibi's release, shouted words of encouragement to the jailed player.
“Your wife sends her love, Hakeem. All of Australia is with you. Be strong. Football is with you,” Mr Foster said.
Mr Araibi, 25, a former Bahraini national team player, has said he fled his home country due to political repression. He has been living in Melbourne, where he plays for a semi-professional football team.
Bahrain wants him returned to serve a 10-year prison sentence he received in absentia in 2014 for an arson attack that damaged a police station, which he denies.
Mr Araibi's supporters have said he should be freed and is protected under his status as a refugee with Australian residency. He was detained upon his arrival in Bangkok in November while on a holiday at the request of Bahrain relayed through Interpol -- reportedly from the international police body's Australian office.
“The Thai government should see that Bahrain's sole motive is to further punish Hakeem for the peaceful political opinions he expressed,” Amnesty International Thailand campaigner Katherine Gerson said in a statement. “He is at grave risk of unjust imprisonment, torture and other ill-treatment if he is returned to Bahrain.”
The Bangkok court set an April 22 date for the next hearing.
