BANGKOK, Jan 30 (TNA) — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said Thailand had good ties with FIFA and Bahrain and could not intervene in the case of a Bahraini footballer.
Gen Prayut responded to the report that FIFA’s secretary general wrote to seek a meeting with him to discuss the arrest of Hakeem al-Araibi, the former player of Bahraini youth’s national football team, in Thailand last November while on vacation with his wife.
FIFA and Bahrain had had good ties with Thailand for a long time, the prime minister said.
“There must be a good way out. But the case is under the jurisdiction of a court, so it will be handled by the justice system. The government is unable to take any action or intervention,” he said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Gen Prayut to free the refugee footballer who had been detained for over two months in wake of an extradition request from Bahrain.
The footballer had earlier fled his homeland and was granted asylum in Australia where he played in Melbourne.
He complained Bahrain wanted him for his criticism of Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, a member of the ruling family and president of the Asian Football Confederation. (TNA)
