Mohamed Hubail (born 23 June 1981) is a

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who was sentenced to a two-year term of imprisonment by a special security court in Bahrain after taking part in pro-democratic reform protests in Bahrain in 2011.

Career

Hubail is a member of the

Bahrain national football team The Bahrain national football team () represents Bahrain in international football and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association, which was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the FIFA World Cup, but have t ...

with 61 international appearances, his first in 2004. He is a midfield player who has scored 5 goals at international level. At club level, Hubail currently plays for Al-Ahli Manama in

. He began his career with Al-Ahli and has also played for Al-Qadisiyah al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia, Al-Arabi Mansouriah in Kuwait and Qatar SC ad-Dōḥa and Al-Gharrafa ad-Dōḥa in Qatar.

Personal life

Mohamed's younger brother,

A'ala Hubail A'ala Ahmed Mohamed Hubail (; born 25 June 1982) is a Bahraini former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. With the Bahrain national football team, Bahrain national team. 2011 det ...

, is also a footballer and a member of the Bahraini national team."In Bahrain, first, they came for the athletes" by Tahiyya Lulu at guardian.co.uk, 22 April 2011
accessed 24 April 2011

2011 detention, secret trial and imprisonment

On 5 April 2011 Mohamed Hubail and his brother A'ala were arrested by the Bahreini authorities and held in custody on an indefinite basis. The brothers had attended demonstrations during the

2011 Bahraini protests The 2011 Bahraini uprising was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the mainly Shia and some Sunni Islam, Sunni Bahraini opposition primarily from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spri ...

. Al-Ahli announced that the brothers had been dismissed from the club squad. The

Al Wefaq Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society (; ), sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest court in Bahrain to be dissolved and liquidated. Although from ...

party, the main opposition party in the Bahrain, announced that he had been convicted and sentenced on June 23 to two years in prison. According to Al Wefaq, the trial was conducted in secret by Bahrain's special security court established under the martial law regime imposed in March 2011. On 24 June 2011 FIFA, the world football governing body, announced that it had contacted the Bahraini football authorities to provide information about cases involving players detained during political protests. Following allegations of government interference in the sport after Mohammed Hubail's prison sentence and A'ala Hubail's trial and the suspension of over 150 athletes, coaches and referees for taking part in anti-government protests, Bahrain could face a ban from world soccer. Suspension by FIFA could prevent Bahrain participating in Asian Olympic Games qualifying round matches (due in September 2011). According to the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

in Geneva, the Bahraini trials appeared to bear the marks of political persecution and there were serious concerns that the due process rights of the defendants were not respected. On 29 June 2011 the Bahrain News Agency reported that the Bahrain Defence Force military public prosecutor had announced that "defendants involved at medical and sport crimes" had been released, but trials would continue in accordance with Bahraini legal procedures."Announcement by the military prosecuter[sic]", Bahrain News Agency website, 29 June 2011
accessed 29 June 2011

National team career statistics

Goals for Senior National Team

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubail, Mohamed 1981 births Living people Bahraini men's footballers 21st-century Bahraini sportsmen Bahraini expatriate men's footballers Bahrain men's international footballers 2004 AFC Asian Cup players 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Al Ahli Club (Manama) players Al-Gharafa SC players Qatar SC players Al-Arabi SC (Kuwait) players Al Qadsiah FC players Muscat Club players Fanja SC players Sitra Club players Bahraini Premier League players Qatar Stars League players Kuwait Premier League players Saudi Pro League players Oman Professional League players Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Kuwait Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Oman Bahraini expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Bahraini expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Bahraini expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Bahraini expatriate sportspeople in Oman