Al-Shabab spent years in Bahrain's top division and included a number of young players who had represented the country's various national youth teams.
[2][6] Emad had come to the attention of authorities as an activist before the 2011 Bahraini uprising during the Arab Spring, and one night at the end of 2011 police turned up at the family home at 3am, looking for him.
[5] After his arrest and detention in November 2012, Hakeem returned to play for Al-Shabab and in late 2013 was called up for the senior national team by the newly appointed English coach, Anthony Hudson.
They accused him of vandalising a police station four days earlier, based on the supposed confession of his brother Emad, who allegedly told them that Hakeem had been part of a crowd of protesters who set upon the building with Molotov cocktails.
However prosecution said that the mob had gathered earlier and the attack had taken place at 8 pm and that Hakeem would have had enough time to leave the stadium after finishing the match and take part in it 40 minutes later.
[17] On 27 February 2019 al-Araibi told of his ordeal in The Guardian, expressing his gratitude to all concerned for helping to secure his release and his relief at his return, but also of his belief that Bahrain will continue to pursue him.
He also wrote of several cases of Bahrain's abuse of human rights, including the detention of activist Najah Yusuf and jiujitsu champion Mohamed Mirza, and his belief in the ability of sports bodies to apply effective pressure to bring about change.
A role created in collaboration with Professional Footballers Australia, its aim is to inspire and support players from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, by telling his own story.
[21] Al-Araibi and his wife flew to Thailand on 27 November 2018 for a belated honeymoon, but both were detained upon arrival at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport,[8][22] at the request of Bahraini authorities,[4] and in response to an Interpol red notice.
[23] Questions about the role of the Australian Federal Police in his arrest were raised after it was reported that the AFP, working as locally based Interpol, had notified Thailand of his arrival and did not flag his refugee status.
[9][23] On 4 February 2019 al-Araibi arrived at the Bangkok court with his feet shackled together in front of many international supporters and news cameras, begging not to be sent back to Bahrain.
[2] However the Thai attorney-general's office ruled that Bahrain had a legitimate "criminal" case, and the court granted him 60 days, until 5 April, to submit his legal defence to stop his extradition to the country of his birth.
[11][27] He would have to remain in a Thai prison until his next court appearance on 22 April, after he was denied bail,[2] when decisions would be made on permissible witnesses and the length of the extradition hearing.
[33] Amnesty International Australia created a "Write for Rights" campaign for individuals to email Thai officials via their website, attracting 53,218 signatories as at 4 February 2019.
[17] Craig Foster, retired Australian captain, SBS Australia chief football analyst and PFA representative, campaigned on al-Araibi's behalf since news broke of his detention.
He travelled to Switzerland to present a petition with more than 50,000 signatures demanding the release of the detained footballer and held talks with general secretary Fatma Samoura FIFA on 29 January 2019.
[35] Foster's many tweets on the topic were widely shared[36][non-primary source needed] and the hashtag #SaveHakeem has been trending on social media platforms.
[11] Australian football teams joined Pascoe Vale FC club in calling for his release, staging protests, wearing armbands and stopping for a minute's applause at A-League games around the country.
[38] On 29 January 2019 the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) called for al-Araibi's release, after being criticised for its inaction, although Sheikh Salman made no public statement himself.
[41] In early December 2018, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that she had raised the matter with her Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, requesting that Al-Araibi be allowed to return to Melbourne as soon as possible.
[44] Foreign minister Don Pramudwinai said Australia and Bahrain should negotiate a solution, with Thailand ready to mediate, and that "for now Hakeem will be under the care of Thai authorities".
[45] Australian PM Scott Morrison said that he had received a reply to his letter to Mr Chan-ocha, but had written to him again after being disturbed at the appearance of al-Araibi in shackles at the hearing the day before.
[44] On 6 February, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an eight-point press release, stressing Thailand's role as a disinterested party which had unwittingly become tangled in a dispute between Australia and Bahrain, but which as a sovereign country has "legal obligations and commitments to the international community".
Later that day the Thais had received a note from the Bahraini embassy informing them similarly that al-Araibi would soon be arriving in Thailand and that he had a Red Notice, and seeking their cooperation.
[46] The latest new business venture between the two countries is a new 6,700-square-metre (72,000 sq ft) Thai shopping centre in Manama, set to launch in the first half of 2019 and described as an opportunity for Thai small and medium-sized enterprises to reach a huge potential market of Saudi shoppers,[46] said to be the biggest economic centre in Bahrain, with import and exports between the two countries expected to be worth around US$400m annually.
[51][52] On 18 February, the AFP and Home Affairs Assistant Minister Linda Reynolds were questioned in a Senate estimates hearing about the circumstances leading to al-Arabi's detention.
[53] The 2023 documentary film The Defenders, directed by Adelaide filmmaker Matthew Bate,[54] tells the story of how Foster and others worked to free al-Araibi from prison.