UPDATE 12/02/19: Hakeem is free! The Thai authorites released Hakeem yesterday and he will be arriving back home in Melbourne today. This petition has now served its purpose and is closed, thanks to the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who took action to #SaveHakeem.



Former Bahraini national footballer, Hakeem al-Araibi, found refuge and safety in Australia after fleeing torture and persecution in his home country.



Now, he is languishing in immigration detention in Thailand and could be deported back to certain danger in Bahrain.

In early December 2018, Hakeem travelled to Thailand with his wife for a holiday, expecting to sightsee and relax on the beach. But on arrival, he was detained after Bahrain authorities initiated an INTERPOL Red Notice, effectively a warrant for his arrest. That Red Notice has since been lifted but he still sits in Thai detention awaiting possible deportation.

Hakeem fled Bahrain in 2014 after he was convicted in an unfair trial of vandalizing a police station, even though he was abroad and playing in a televised football match at the time. Since finding refuge in Australia, he has spoken out about human rights abuses in his home country, including the torture he suffered in detention.

We know that Hakeem faces imprisonment and torture if he is sent back to Bahrain.



Tell the Thai authorities to release Hakeem immediately, and allow him to return to his friends, colleagues and teammates in Australia.