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FBL-POLITICS-REFUGEE-AUSTRALIA
Refugee footballer becomes Australian citizen after Thai ordeal
MELBOURNE, March 12, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A refugee footballer who was
detained in Thailand and threatened with extradition to Bahrain said he feels
sure “no one can follow me now,” after becoming an Australian citizen on
Tuesday.
Hakeem al-Araibi, who was granted refugee status and residency in
Australia in 2017 after fleeing Bahrain, became an Australian at a ceremony
in Melbourne.
The 25-year-old shot to international fame when he was arrested while on
honeymoon in Thailand last year.
He was wanted by Bahrain on offences linked to the 2011 Arab Spring
uprisings.
Amid a worldwide outcry, he was eventually allowed back to Melbourne,
where he plays semi-professional football.
Spotting a big smile on his face and a salmon-pink jacket, al-Araibi posed
for photos with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise
Payne after the ceremony at Federation Square in Melbourne.
“I am very grateful to you, now I feel save. NSydneyo one can follow me
now,” al-Araibi wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
“It’s a wonderful and awesome feeling to gain all this respect in my
citizenship ceremony, I’m really proud to see Marise Payne… and other
government representatives participating in my ceremony it make me feel
secure.”
Payne told the ceremony the massive outpouring of support for the
footballer “played an enormous part in ensuring he was returned to
Australia”.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1045 hrs