Freed refugee Hakeem Al-Araibi has told how he was stunned to be greeted like an international superstar on his return to Melbourne. As the Bahraini dissident prepares to meet the Prime Minister in Canberra on Thursday 14th, rights group Amnesty is calling on Australia to keep up pressure on countries with poor human rights records.
After the joyful chaos of his touchdown at Melbourne Airport, it was a more subdued affair for Hakeem Al-Araibi as he got together with the former Socceroo who led the campaign to get him out of his Thailand prison cell.
Al-Araibi recalled how he first had an inkling of the size of the airport reception he was about to get.
While pleased to have helped secure his release, Amnesty International spokesman Tim O'Connor says his more than two months in a Thai jail fighting extradition to Bahrain must be a reminder of the need to tackle rights abuses.
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