An Olyroos training camp and game in Thailand has been scrapped as Football Federation Australia takes a stand against the nation's ongoing detention of refugee soccer player Hakeem al-Araibi.
The Australia U-23s were scheduled to train in the country and also play China in a friendly match in Bangkok as part of their preparations for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers which are to be held in Cambodia from March 22.
Activists campaigning for his release suggest that the footballer should never even have been detained; an global warrant was issued for Al-Araibi's arrest as he flew to Bangkok although such red notice requests are not meant for refugees.
The 25-year-old Melbourne refugee, who fled criminal charges related to the 2011 Arab Spring protests against Bahrain's Government, is fighting the extradition, saying he faces torture if returned.
Thailand now claims to be caught between Bahrain, which is seeking the extradition of Araibi, and Australia, which is calling for him to be freed given his refugee status there.
Global condemnation of al-Araibi's treatment has focused on Thailand's role, particularly since it was confirmed the government has the power to release him.
Australia's ambassador to Thailand, who appeared at the court Monday with AlAraibi, said in a statement that Bahrain had never requested AlAraibi's extradition in the four years he has lived in Australia.
Al-Araibi has said he was tortured in Bahrain after his 2012 arrest and fled in 2014 to Australia, which granted him political asylum in 2017.
Morrison wrote a letter to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in January and on Wednesday said he had written him a second letter after being "very disturbed" by the sight of al-Araibi in chains during a court appearance on Monday.
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"Indeed, we would not have become involved in the issue had we not received the red notice alert from the Australian Interpol and the subsequent formal request by Bahrain for his arrest and extradition".
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has increased pressure on Thailand to release al-Araibi.
Craig Foster, a former captain of Australia's Socceroos, added: "It's obvious to the world that this is a politically motivated case, this is about retribution from Bahrain to Hakeem who spoke up against the government and others".
It said al-Araibi had been granted bail to travel for a football tournament and had violated the terms while taking "special consideration granted to him as a sportsman". We'll just consider the case based on the law and the need to maintain neutrality.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne reiterated her government's call for the Thai government to release al-Araibi so he can return home to Australia.
"I would be very disappointed if as a result of how this was handled that that relationship between the Thai and Australian people were affected", he told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday. "This was also confirmed by the prosecutor in the context of yesterday's hearing", Payne said in a statement. "Thailand can, and should, return Hakeem to Australia".
"So between now and then, Hakeem will have to be in custody for at least until August", Trumph Jalichandra said, Reuters reported.
"After a thorough process, he was assessed by the Australian government to be a refugee". 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 is deported.
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