Hakeem AlAraibi, 25, was told on Friday by Thai officials to prepare to leave the country and booked a flight to Melbourne departing at 9.25pm on Saturday, according to NGOs and human rights activists who have spoken to him.
However, on Saturday evening he was taken from the police cells at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport to the Immigration Detention Centre in the city.
Araibi was granted asylum status by Australia in May 2014 after being sentenced in absentia by the Bahraini courts to 10 years jail for vandalising a police station.
He says he was arrested in November 2012 and tortured by the Bahraini authorities, allegedly due to the political activities of his brother.
Araibi has also been a vocal critic of Sheikh Salman Al Khalifa, the president of the Asian Football Federation and a cousin of the Bahraini king.
A former member of the Bahrain national team, Araibi was arrested upon his arrival at Bangkok airport on November 27, based on an Interpol red notice issued at Bahrain's request.
