Thailand released a refugee soccer player after a world-wide outcry over the risks he faced if he was sent back to Bahrain to serve a 10-year prison sentence for vandalism, pressuring on Bangkok to change its treatment of refugees. Hakeem al-Araibi fled Bahrain in 2014 because of what he said was political persecution. He has been living in Australia, which granted him refugee status and where he plays for a semiprofessional team in Melbourne. He was arrested in Bangkok in November when he arrived for a honeymoon after Bahrain...

Source: Wall Street Journal February 11, 2019 11:36 UTC