Hakeem al-Araibi campaigners say Bahraini footballer’s case is urgent

The 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”.