Category Archives: Thailand

Hakeem al-Araibi: extradition proceedings against refugee begin amid Australian protests

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Thai authorities order al-Araibi to appear in court as refugee’s supporters say Fifa and IOC must threaten sanctions

The extradition hearing for Hakeem al-Araibi has been forwarded to the Thai courts as advocates call for Fifa and the International Olympic Committee to threaten sanctions against Thailand and Bahrain, including suspending their memberships, over the continued detention of al-Araibi.

On Friday Nadthasiri Bergman, al-Araibi’s lawyer, said prosecutors had submitted an official request to the criminal court over Bahrain’s request to extradite al-Araibi.

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Philippines tops world internet usage index with an average 10 hours a day

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South-east Asia has three countries in the top five, while Japan comes in last

South-east Asia is one of the most internet-addicted regions on the planet, with the Philippines topping the global list with an average 10 hours and 2 minutes of screen time every day.

The country was joined in the top five by Thailand and Indonesia, according to findings in a new report on online habits released by HootSuite and We Are Social.

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The miracle method for sustainable rice that scientists dismissed | John Vidal

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A technique developed by a Jesuit priest is producing bigger harvests – and reducing emissions of a crop responsible for 1.5% of greenhouse gases

The fragrant jasmine rice growing on the left side of Kreaougkra Junpeng’s five-acre field stands nearly five feet tall.

Each plant has 15 or more tillers, or stalks, and the grains hang heavy from them. The Thai farmer says this will be his best-ever harvest in 30 years and he will reap it four weeks earlier than usual.

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Toxic smog forces Bangkok to close hundreds of schools

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Thai capital has been shrouded in murky haze for weeks, forcing residents to don masks and sparking criticism of government

Toxic smog forced Bangkok authorities to issue an unprecedented order to shut nearly 450 schools on Wednesday as authorities struggled to manage a pollution crisis that has stirred widespread concern.

The Thai capital has been shrouded in murky haze for weeks, forcing residents to don masks and sparking social media criticism of the uneven response by the government.

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Campaigners say case of Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi now an ‘emergency’

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• Al-Araibi has been detained in Thailand since November
• ‘We are clearly facing a human rights emergency’

Activists campaigning for the release of the Bahraini refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi, who has been detained in Thailand since November after an Interpol red notice was wrongly issued against him, say his plight has become an emergency.

The warnings came from Brendan Schwab of the World Players Association and the former Australia captain Craig Foster after news that Bahrain has formally submitted an extradition request for Al-Araibi’s return.

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Hakeem al-Araibi’s detention not Sheikh Salman’s responsibility, AFC says

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Asian Football Confederation, which has come under fire for failing to call for the refugee footballer’s release, says its president was recused from overseeing the region 18 months ago

The Asian Football Confederation claims its president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, is not responsible for matters regarding the Thai detention of Hakeem al-Araibi because he was recused from overseeing the region 18 months ago out of conflict-of-interest concerns.

The new claim came in response to a call from the World Players Association for Salman to be disqualified from office if the refugee footballer was returned to Bahrain.

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Thailand’s military junta cracks down on social media ahead of election

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Restrictions on political parties’ campaigning raises questions of how free and fair will much-postponed poll be

Social media campaigning will be heavily restricted in the upcoming Thai election, in a move political parties claim will gag freedom of expression and directly affect younger voters.

Following the confirmation that Thailand’s much-postponed election would finally be held on 24 March – the first election since the military seized power in a bloodless coup in 2014 – the election commission released strict guidelines on political campaigning.

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Thai film-maker wins UK contemporary art prize Artes Mundi

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Apichatpong Weerasethakul to receive £40,000 for his political artwork Invisibility

The Palme d’Or winning film director and artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul has won one of the UK’s most important and lucrative contemporary art prizes.

On Thursday evening, Weerasethakul was named winner of the eighth edition of the Artes Mundi prize, a biennial competition rewarding political art from across the world. It comes with a prize of £40,000, the largest visual art prize in Britain.

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Tiger poachers arrested by Thai police were part of Vietnamese gang

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Police investigating discovery of animal’s remains warn of organised crime threat to Thailand’s tiger population

Thai authorities investigating the discovery of the remains of a wild tiger in a taxi have warned that organised crime gangs are behind the capture and slaughter of Thailand’s endangered tiger population.

Police, acting on a tip-off from a cab driver, arrested two men suspected of being members of a Vietnam-based syndicate involved in the trafficking of animal parts. The tiger was found in their luggage along with mobile phones containing photographs of the animal being killed.

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‘Please help me’: refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi tells of his Thai jail ordeal

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Exclusive: In an interview with the Guardian he pleads for his release and says he fears torture and jail if extradited to Bahrain

Hakeem al-Araibi, the refugee footballer from Bahrain who was detained in Thailand while on his honeymoon, has said he is “losing hope” and believes he will be tortured again or even killed if he is deported to Bahrain.

Speaking to the Guardian from Bangkok Remand Prison, a visibly distressed Al-Araibi said he was “terrified ” and that his fear was “getting worse every day”. Al-Araibi was given asylum in Australia in 2017 after fleeing his home country where he was persecuted for his beliefs, tortured in prison and convicted on a trumped-up vandalism charge.

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Thailand to hold elections on 24 March

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After repeated postponements, polls will be first since military coup in 2014

Thailand is to hold its long-awaited general election on 24 March, its first since a military coup almost five years ago.

The announcement, which came hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a royal decree formalising the election, marks a significant moment in the country’s return to democracy.

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Hakeem al-Araibi: calls grow for inquiry into police role in refugee footballer’s arrest

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Exclusive: Greens and the ACTU say parliament should investigate AFP’s role in the detention of Bahraini refugee in Thailand

A parliamentary inquiry should examine the actions of the Australian Federal Police which led to the arrest of Hakeem al-Araibi in Thailand, Australia’s peak union body and the Greens have said.

Al-Araibi, a 25-year-old Bahraini refugee who has permanent residency in Australia, was arrested on arrival in Bangkok for a holiday, on the basis of an Interpol red notice, which was later lifted.

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Thailand signals major shift in refugee policy after Rahaf Mohammed case

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Immigration chief says country ‘will now follow international norms’ yet is still considering extraditing refugee Hakeem al-Araibi

Thailand’s immigration chief has pledged a reversal of the country’s notoriously harsh treatment of refugees following the global furore around a young Saudi woman’s attempt to seek asylum.

Speaking on Wednesday, the newly appointed head of immigration, Surachate Hakparn, said refugees would no longer be returned home “involuntarily”.

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‘Time to start talking about consent’: Thailand’s nascent #MeToo moment

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A web project that let people share stories of sexual assault is growing into an influential force for change

In a small bookshop in Suan Phlu, a lively district of Bangkok, an unusual conversation is taking place. Men and women crammed into the nooks and crannies between the books listen intently as Wipaphan Wongsawang picks up a microphone and gestures around her. “Women in Thailand should not have to be silent about rape and assault any longer,” she says. “It’s time people started talking about consent.”

Wongsawang is the founder of Thaiconsent, a project that began as a series of articles explaining the concept of sexual consent to her friends. In the past 12 months it has grown into an online platform containing hundreds of stories of rape and assault, and inspired an exhibition of artworks designed to challenge Thailand’s culture of misunderstanding over sexual assault.

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Rahaf al-Qunun lands in Toronto after long journey to safety

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Saudi teen was granted asylum by Canada after flying to Thailand to escape her family

The Saudi woman who barricaded herself in a Thai hotel room in a desperate attempt to flee abuse landed in Canada on Saturday, capping a tumultuous and uncertain journey towards safety.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun arrived in Toronto, the country’s largest city. As she entered the airport’s arrivals area, she was accompanied by Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Chrystia Freeland, who has been a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia’s jailing of female dissidents.

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Saudi woman fleeing family flies to Canada after gaining asylum

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Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, fled to Thailand last week accusing her family of abuse

An 18-year-old Saudi woman who said she was abused by her family and feared for her life if deported back home has left Thailand for Canada, which has granted her asylum, officials said.

The fast-moving developments capped an eventful week for Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun. She fled her family while visiting Kuwait and flew to Bangkok, where she barricaded herself in an airport hotel to avoid deportation and grabbed global attention by mounting a social media campaign for asylum.

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Rahaf al-Qunun: Labor says Saudi refugee should be resettled in Australia

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Bill Shorten urges Scott Morrison to accept Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun now that the UN has validated her refugee claim

Labor has said the Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun should be resettled in Australia now that her refugee claim had been validated.

The party’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Penny Wong, told ABC radio on Thursday Bill Shorten had written to Scott Morrison urging him to accept Qunun.

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Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi teenager given refugee status by the UN

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Australia to consider asylum request after home affairs minister says she would not get ‘special treatment’

Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun has been found to be a refugee by the United Nations, and the Australian government will now consider her asylum request, according to the Department of Home Affairs.

The 18-year-old woman barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room on Sunday to prevent her forcible return to Saudi Arabia, where she claims her family will kill her because she has renounced Islam.

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Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi woman under UN protection as Australia urges asylum claim

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Thai authorities say 18-year-old will not be forced to return with her father to the Middle East, where she claims her family will kill her

An 18-year-old Saudi woman who barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to prevent her forcible return to a family she claims will kill her, has been taken under the protection of the UN high commissioner for refugees in Thailand.

The Australian government said on Monday night Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s situation was “deeply concerning” and it had lobbied the Thai government and the UNHCR to allow her to formally claim asylum.

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Saudi woman shuts herself in Thai hotel room to avoid deportation

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Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun says she will be killed if forced to return to abusive family

An 18-year-old Saudi woman being detained in Bangkok having fled from her family after renouncing Islam fears she will be killed if she is repatriated, according to a close friend who said the threats to her life are real.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun has barricaded herself in her hotel room for fear that Thai immigration officials, who have gathered outside her door, would force her on to a plane to leave the country. Thai immigration officials have confirmed she has been denied entry to the country.

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