No, there are international standards for hours of service/hours of rest for pilots. The FAA are quite picky about this domestically. It’s why some long haul routes fly with relief pilots as part of the crew. It sounds like the press is mischaracterizing what the pilot is doing. He’s not refusing to fly, he’s refusing to violate the hours of service rules.
CC
(he’s refusing to violate the hours of service rules)
That’s how I thought it read, too