It’s been 53 days since the Australian resident NPL player was arrested on his honeymoon in Bangkok at the behest of birth country Bahrain on an incorrectly issued Interpol red notice, and pressure is mounting across the world for his release.
They are fears the 26-year-old will be sent back to the Gulf state to face torture and imprisonment, with SBS chief football analyst and former Socceroo Craig Foster spearheading a spiraling social media campaign for his liberation from what are believed to be highly questionable charges of vandalising a police station during the Arab spring of 2012.
Having been granted refugee status in Australia in 2017 - he fled here in 2014 - the former Bahrain national team player was a subject of discussion when Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne met with Thai government officials in Bangkok last week.
But Reid, a new face on the reconstituted FFA board, insists more needs to be done at the highest diplomat levels to bring al-Araibi back to his Melbourne home and rescue him from further political persecution in Bahrain.
“I’d like to think the Federal Government, in the form of the PM and the Immigration Minister (Peter Dutton) could do more,” declared Reid.
“We’ve had Marise Payne go and make a statement. Is that sufficient? I’m not sure.
“I think it’s probably time for Scott Morrison to step in now.”
FIFA, FFA and Human Rights Watch are among those to have asked for his immediate release, and a petition with the names of multiple stakeholders and concerned individuals from across myriad borders is adding to the whirlwind of support for the Pascoe Vale FC player.
“There has been an injustice here from my reading of the situation,” added Reid.
“It’s a complex matter and you have powerful people influencing what has happened so far and what could still happen in the future.
“I feel very sorry for Hakeem and we have to do what we can to marshal the troops, so to speak, and continue to put a bit of pressure on.”
The former head of Capital Football is awaiting her own briefing from her government contacts in Canberra to get “an update on the politics of it all”, with al-Araibi already sentenced to 10 years jail in abstentia by Bahraini authorities.
“We need to keep the campaign rolling. The big question is why was he even arrested in the first place (by the Thais).
“There’s evidence to suggest there’s no basis for it (the alleged vandalism) and was in fact playing in a televised game at the time.
“We are dealing with powerful forces here and need to keep up the social media pressure as much as we can also.
"It’s admirable the work Craig (Foster) is doing to highlight this.
“This is a long, convoluted process and certainly needs to be addressed at government to government level.”
Thailand has a poor record in dealing with those fleeing political persecution, but did stand up to Saudi Arabia last weekend when it allowed fleeing teenager Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, 18, to fly to asylum in Canada.
She feared for her life after renouncing Islam and was being processed for refugee status in Australia before the Canadians stepped in last weekend and heightened concerns for her safety to fly her from Bangkok to Toronto.
