A former Bahrain national footballer with Australian refugee status must remain in detention in Thailand as he awaits possible extradition, a Bangkok court said Tuesday, as campaigners say they fear he could be "tortured" if returned to the Gulf state. Hakeem Alaraibi says he was arrested and beaten at the start of the Arab Spring protests in Bahrain in 2012, and was granted refugee status in Australia five years later. The 25-year-old, who now plays for semi-professional club Pascoe Vale FC in Melbourne, was stopped by Thai immigration on November 27 after arriving in Bangkok for a vacation with his wife and detained upon request from the Bahraini government, as Australia and Bahrain tussle over his fate.
His lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman told AFP Tuesday the court has extended his time behind bars in Bangkok for 60 days. The attorney-general's office would then file an application for his extradition, she said. "I think he has a good chance not to be extradited because we have evidence" that he will face abuses back in Bahrain, Bergman said.
The court denied a bail request after the detention order. Speaking to reporters as he was led into court in the morning by immigration police, Alaraibi begged for the proceedings to be halted. "Immigration Thailand and Immigration Bahrain work together to send me back to Bahrain. But Australia stopped them. Please stop them," Alaraibi said.
"I don't want to go back to Bahrain - I want to go back to Australia. I didn't do anything in Bahrain. I'm a refugee in Australia." Alaraibi left the court looking dejected by the day's proceedings and his lawyer said he was "terrified".
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