Wednesday November 24th 2021
“The fear in their eyes”
Qatar arrested critical journalists
A year before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, two Norwegian journalists who report critical of the situation of guest workers in the country are arrested. The Norwegians are released, but that doesn’t end the incident.
Around a year before the opening game of the controversial World Cup in Qatar, the brief arrest of two journalists from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) caused severe criticism of the hosts. The sports policy journalist Halvor Ekeland and the photographer Lokman Ghorbani worked on an article about the situation of guest workers in the country, who are employed on the World Cup construction sites, among other things. The situation of the workers is repeatedly criticized by observers such as the human rights organization Amnesty International. The English “Guardian” reported in February that since 2010, when the World Cup was awarded to the emirate, around 6,500 guest workers had died in Qatar.
During a live broadcast prior to the arrest, Ekeland had stated that there is “a huge discrepancy in this country”. “Some of the workers are doing horribly. You can see in their eyes that they are not doing well. They work very hard all day,” he commented on the situation. He would particularly remember the workers who did not want to speak to media representatives. “When I ask her about an interview, you can see the fear in her eyes,” said Ekeland on NRK.
According to the broadcaster, Ekeland and Ghorbani wanted to do an interview with the dissident Abdullah Ibhais, a well-known critic of the Qatari regime. Ibhais previously worked as media and communications director for the organizers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In April this year, he was sentenced to five years in prison for corruption. Ibhais has appealed his judgment.
“Glad to be back in Europe”
Earlier this year, the Norwegian football magazine “Josimar” had an extensive article about the trial of Ibhais, alleging that he had been convicted of campaigning for the rights of migrant workers in the country. These claims were denied by the organizing committee. According to “Josimar”, the committee also sent a detailed email demanding that “incorrect and defamatory information” be removed from the article.
A few hours before the agreed appointment, Ibhais was finally arrested, and the journalists themselves were arrested on the way to the airport. “We were arrested at the hotel on Sunday evening. We were taken to the police station and stayed there for several hours,” Ekeland told the VG newspaper. “We were interviewed, but above all we are happy to be back in Europe. We have had a tough time.” The Norwegians were released early Tuesday morning and left Doha late Tuesday evening. They are now back in their homeland.
The broadcaster also wants to discuss the incident with FIFA. “It is untenable that the media should be prevented from doing free and independent journalism at one of the biggest sporting events in the world,” said the director general of NRK, Thor Gjermund Eriksen, to the Norwegian media. He expects “that the Norwegian government will emphasize the importance of a free and independent press and the importance of freedom of expression.”
Eriksen said in the morning that “NRK” was still waiting for an explanation as to why the two journalists were arrested. Qatar’s government said the two were taken into custody Monday morning for trespassing on private property and filming there. The arrest was made after a complaint from the property owner. The two were released without charge after the legal proceedings were completed. They “knowingly and deliberately” violated the law. The Qatari government said that they had been given all of the filming permits that they registered before their arrival.
In the past, Qatar has received international criticism mainly because of the kafala system, which equates to modern slavery, and because of the many deaths in the construction of the stadiums. Just a few days ago, in a new report on the situation of guest workers in Qatar, Amnesty International criticized the fact that “progress has stagnated and old abusive practices have even reappeared”.