REFUGEE FOOTBALLER BACK IN OZ
COMES BACK AFTER TWO MONTHS DETENTION IN THAILAND
MELBOURNE : Refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi made a triumphant return to Australia on Tuesday, ending a harrowing two months in Thai detention, as his supporters called for an investigation into why he was arrested in the first place.
“I want to thank Australia,” said a smiling Araibi, ending an ordeal that saw him jailed during his honeymoon and threatened with extradition to his native Bahrain. “This is my country.” “I don’t have citizenship yet, but my country is Australia. I will die in Australia and I love Australia,” he said.
A throng of well-wishers decked in #SAVEHAKEEM T-shirts cheered and sang the football anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as they greeted the 25-year-old defender at Melbourne Airport, after an overnight flight to freedom aboard Thai Airways flight 465. Araibi was detained at a Bangkok airport on November 27 at the request of Bahraini authorities who accuse him of offences linked to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.