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Australia granted citizenship to Hakim Oreibi, a Bahraini footballer he fled in 2014 after Thai authorities released him in February after being arrested at the request of Manama.
In a statement to reporters Tuesday in Melbourne after his inauguration ceremony and about 200 other nationalities, which was attended by Secretary of State Maris Penn, Mr. Oreibi said he was happy to receive Australian citizenship , saying it gave him a sense of security.
The 25-year-old said he planned to focus on Australian football and hoped he would join the national team. "No country can count for me now because I am Australian, what I want is not in Bahrain to be accountable."
For her part, the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs said during the ceremony that her community was very concerned about Ureybi's security after it was held in Thailand last year, declaring itself proud of the success of the campaign launched for his release.
He went to Australia in 2014 after being accused in his country of having participated in the events of the "Arab Spring" in 2011, which also included Bahrain, and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Imprisonment in the Kingdom.
Last November, the Thai authorities had arrested the player at Bangkok airport while he was returning from Australia on honeymoon with his wife, in response to an international arrest warrant. issued by Bahrain against him.
Under international pressure, the Bahraini authorities gave up an international arrest warrant in February and Oreibi was released.
Source: Associated Press + Australian Media
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