Araibi finally free after Bahrain backs off
Bahraini refugee Hakeem al-Araibi was freed after the Criminal Court yesterday approved the prosecution’s withdrawal of its request to have him extradited to his home country.
The withdrawal request was submitted by Setta Thianpilakul, of the Office of the Attorney-General’s International Affairs Department, at the court yesterday.
Chatchom Akapin, director-general of the department, said his office was informed by the Foreign Ministry that the Bahraini government was no longer interested in pursuing the extradition of Araibi.
A team of prosecutors reviewed the Public Prosecution Organ and Public Prosecutors Act and relevant laws in relation to the case’s withdrawal.
“As Bahrain shows no interest of pursuing the case, this does not serve the public interest in line with the act’s Section 21, which stipulates that if prosecutors deem criminal cases not beneficial to the public, they can drop the case,” said Mr Chatchom.
Prosecutors, therefore, petitioned the court to have the case withdrawn, he said.
A statement later issued by the Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintained that, despite withdrawing the extradition request: “The guilty verdict against Mr Al Araibi remains in place and ... The Kingdom of Bahrain reaffirms its right to pursue all necessary legal actions against Mr Al Araibi.”
Meanwhile, Araibi was taken from Bangkok Remand Prison to the Immigration Bureau yesterday afternoon for documentation.
The 25-year-old man was reportedly scheduled to leave Thailand on a flight to Melbourne from Suvarnabhumi airport at 12.47am last night.
Araibi, who has refugee status in Australia, was detained upon his arrival in Bangkok in November while on honeymoon, and was subsequently held pending the completion of the extradition request by Bahrain.
The Bahraini government insists Araibi is a fugitive convicted for an arson attack that damaged a police station in relation to the 2011 Arab Spring protests against the government, an act he denies. Bahrain wanted him returned to serve a 10-year prison sentence he received in absentia in 2014.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had sent a letter last month urging Thailand to stop the extradition and let him return to Australia, where he lives and plays for a semi-professional team in Melbourne, thanked the Thai government for “listening to the issues” that had been raised.
Calling his detention a “grave mistake”, Kasit Piromya, a board member of the lobby group Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said the footballer’s case highlighted the failings of Thailand’s “outdated” laws and policies regarding refugees.
“Hakeem should never have been put through this ordeal in the first place,” Mr Kasit said.