INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Former footballer Craig Foster is leading the campaign to release Hakeem al-AraibiThe case of Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi "has
become an absolute emergency", according to campaigners.The 25-year-old holds refugee status in Australia after fleeing his homeland in
2014, but is being held in Thailand.Former Australia captain Craig Foster, who is leading the effort to secure Al-Araibi's release, met
with Fifa officials on Monday.But he warned that Bahrain pressing ahead with plans to extradite Al-Araibi had "escalated the issue".The Arab
kingdom says that extradition proceedings are now "in process".In a statement, interior minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa also
insisted "external interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain is unacceptable".Al-Araibi fled to Australia in 2014, where he was
granted political asylum in 2017, and plays for Pascoe Vale in Melbourne.In 2014, he was sentenced in his absence in Bahrain to 10 years in
prison for vandalising a police station
He denies the charges, with campaigners from the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) saying he is at grave risk of torture if
He was on honeymoon in Thailand when authorities detained him at a Bangkok airport on 27 November last year.Amid mounting pressure from
across the world, Al-Araibi's plight has become a test case for sporting bodies' recent strengthened commitment to human rights
In 2017, Fifa adopted a landmark human-rights policy and, along with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has expressed support for
But the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been criticised for refusing to take a position on the matter
The AFC has said the case is not the responsibility of its President - Sheikh Salman - a Fifa vice-president and a member of the Bahrain
royal family - because of a potential conflict of interest
Salman was the target of criticism by Al-Araibi in 2016.Foster - and world players' union FIFPro - have suggested Fifa should threaten
sporting sanctions against Bahrain and Thailand.Having met Fifa general-secretary Fatma Samoura, Foster said: "We agreed that this has now
become an emergency situation requiring an escalation across the board form all stakeholders."We also agree that Fatma and Fifa are going to
escalate the issue to the highest level of both countries."The human rights policy of Fifa is an incredibly important tool in this situation
and we're delighted that Fifa has demonstrated again their commitment to ensuring that every stakeholder in football will apply the absolute
maximum leverage."[Over] the next five days we want to see absolute progress and that means Hakeem Al-Araibi being released."We feel the
urgency and emergency of the matter is so grave right now that all of sport has come out in favour of Hakeem."Former England player Gary
Lineker has tweeted in support of the #SaveHakeem campaign, and a petition calling for al-Araibi's release has so far received 50,000
