A Thai court formally extended the detention of Hakeem al-Araibi, once a star defender for the Bahraini national soccer team, for 60 days, during which Thailand’s immigration department can prepare his extradition. Mr. Araibi was initially detained because of an Interpol red notice, an alert from the global police agency meant to inform nations about individuals with active arrest warrants, the Thai authorities said. But red notices have also been abused by authoritarian governments that want to bring home critics who have fled abroad, human rights groups say. That is why Interpol over the past several years has instituted reforms that require the agency to vet each person who is added to the red notice database. Refugees like Mr. Araibi are also supposed to be exempt from red notices.

Source: New York Times December 11, 2018 10:59 UTC