Commissioner Chin Tan has written to the Ambassador of Thailand to Australia Nantana Sivakua calling for the immediate release of Hakeem al-Araibi who has been detained in Thailand since November 27 following an incorrectly issued Interpol red notice.

“I write to you to convey my serious concerns about the ongoing detention of Mr Hakeem Ali al-Araibi in Thailand,” Mr Tan wrote in his letter on December 21.

“Mr al-Araibi was granted permanent residency by the Australian government last year in recognition of his status as a refugee.

“Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, has stated that returning Mr al-Araibi to Bahrain would contravene his rights under international human rights law. The Minister has also asked that Thailand allow Mr Al Araibi to return to Australia as soon as possible.

“I echo the sentiments of the Minister.”

The principle of non-refoulement, laid out in the United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees, protects refugees and asylum seekers from being forced to return to a country where they have reason to fear persecution.

Supporters of Araibi, a semi-professional soccer player with the Pascoe Vale Football Club in Melbourne's north, say he has a “very real chance” of being extradited to his native Bahrain where he faces imprisonment and torture after being convicted in absentia for a crime he says he didn’t commit.

In a statement to The Age, Mr Tan said it was critical Araibi’s human rights were protected and upheld.

“My solidarity and strength go to Hakeem and his supporters in this time of immense difficulty,” he said.

Members of Professional Footballers Australia, Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, Amnesty Australia and former Socceroos captain Craig Foster at the weekend called for Foreign Minister Marise Payne to visit Araibi and for the Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to expedite his citizenship approval.

The Australian government informed their Thai counterparts Araibi was travelling to Thailand and subject to an Interpol red notice. Refugees and asylum seekers are not supposed to be subject to these notices when they are issued by the country from which they flee.

The Department of Home Affairs said that membership of Interpol created certain obligations on member agencies, and the existence of an Interpol red notice would have come to the attention of Thai authorities when Araibi attempted to enter Thailand.

"Any action taken in response to the Interpol red notice is a matter for Thai authorities," a department spokesman said.

"Any further questions on this matter are a matter for Thai authorities."

But global criminal justice watchdog Fair Trials has been scathing of Australia’s role in Araibi’s detention.

In a letter to Mr Dutton, Fair Trial chief executive Jago Russell said Australia “enjoys considerable discretion” on what to do with information regarding Interpol red notices.

“Any attempt by the AFP [Australian Federal Police] to justify its actions on the basis that it was acting in good faith to facilitate police co-operation is indefensible,” the letter said.

“Your colleagues must be aware that Australia’s membership to Interpol does not create any legal obligations on Australia to share certain types of information with other countries.”