‘I pay taxes, I play football, I love Australia’: Hakeem al-Araibi speaks

Bangkok: Refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi has begged the Australian government to “keep fighting for me” and stop his extradition to Bahrain on what supporters say are politically-motivated charges.

• James Massola
• The Age

Sixty-three days after arriving in Thailand for a one week honeymoon with his wife, the Melbourne man – who remains in detention pending an extradition request to his birth country – says “I am not good, I am afraid and alone and I miss my wife”.

In an interview with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald inside Bangkok’s Remand Prison, Araibi spoke about his hopes of starting a…

• ‘I pay taxes, I…