Soccer player Hakeem Al-Araibi on Monday contested Thailand’s effort to satisfy Bahrain’s extradition request, saying he fears persecution if he’s sent back.
Al-Araibi, who has refugee status in Australia and plays for a Melbourne-based team, was detained in Bangkok during his honeymoon on an Interpol notice that was later invalidated. He walked into the Criminal Court in the capital in bare feet with shackles around his ankles, escorted by Thai security officials.
Al-Araibi, a critic of the Bahraini government, is due to appear in court again on April 22.
International rights groups have regularly criticized Bahrain’s human rights record. The island kingdom, a staunch ally of Saudi Arabia, has intensified its clampdown on political dissent since the 2011 Arab Spring.
Global criticism of the Thai military government’s handling of Al-Araibi’s predicament is intensifying, with Amnesty International on Monday calling for the extradition case to be thrown out.
- Workers Are Furious. Their Unions Are Scrambling to Catch Up
- What the Facebook Whistleblower Did to the Company's Stock in 6 Weeks
- Photos from Migrants' Desperate Journeys to the U.S. Border
- Emily Ratajkowski: How I Learned to Let Go
- Afghanistan's Female Students Were Banned from Studying. Now Some Are Finding New Ways to Learn
- The 'Safe Supply' Movement Aims to Curb Drug Deaths Linked to the Opioid Crisis
- The 19 Most Underrated Movies on Netflix
- By Ending Legacy Admissions, Amherst Hopes to Change the Makeup of Its Student Body
