May 27 – Qatar whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais was detained in Jordan with local authorities allegedly confiscating his passport after having attended a Norwegian event where he spoke about human rights abuses.
A former media manager of the Supreme Committee for Legacy and Delivery, Ibhais had just returned home from the Nordic Media Days in Bergen where he spoke about FIFA, Qatar, and media manipulation around the 2022 World Cup when according to Ibhais authorities detained him, questioned him for hours and confiscated his passport.
Ibhais says authorities have not yet returned his passport. He has reportedly been told to stop speaking publicly about his imprisonment in Qatar, the treatment of migrant workers, and his criticism of the 2022 World Cup.
The last World Cup became one of the most controversial in modern sporting history because of the plight of migrant workers, who laboured under the kafala system to transform the stadiums and infrastructure of the Gulf nation ahead of the tournament. In 2019, Ibhais was arrested shortly after he criticised the Qatari authorities’ handling of a workers’ protest. He served three years in a Qatari prison.
During the recent interrogation, Jordan authorities questioned him about his work in Qatar, his media appearances, his participation in international conferences, and the relationship between Jordan and Qatar.
Norwegian media Idrettspolitikk reports that Ibhais was asked to write a summary of what he planned to say at the...
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