Football player and refugee whose detention in Thailand sparked an outcry has been freed from jail after Bahrain withdrew its extradition request. Hakeem al-Araibi, who is a Bahraini citizen, fled to Australia in 2014 and was granted political asylum. The Australian government, football’s international governing body Fifa and the International Olympic Committee all lobbied Thailand. Al-Araibi is expected to leave Thailand on Monday evening for Australia. But Bahrain said al-Araibi had been sentenced by an independent judiciary “on charges involving serious violence and criminality, unrelated to any possible freedom of opinion/expression issues”.

Source: Nigerian Tribune February 11, 2019 14:26 UTC