Two people were detained, apparently as suspected government critics; one was allegedly
tortured. Migrant workers were exploited, abused and inadequately protected under
the law. At least six people were sentenced to flogging. At least three men were sentenced
to death; there were no executions.
Qatar did not experience anti-government protests similar to those in other countries
in the region, despite calls for protests made on Facebook in February and March.
Municipal elections were held in May. In November, the government committed to holding
the first elections to the Shura Council, postponed since 2008, in 2013.
A law prohibiting human trafficking was passed in October. Other laws reported to
be under review included the 2002 Protection of Society law, which permits detention
without charge for up to six months.
At least two men were arrested apparently because they were suspected of criticizing
the government, and two people were jailed for blasphemy. At least 46 people, most
of them foreign nationals, were convicted on charges of “illicit sexual relations”
and either deported or imprisoned followed in some cases by deportation.
Salem al-Khawari, a civil servant, was arrested on 7 February and held without charge
until 18 October. He was denied access to his family for three months, during which
he was allegedly made to remain standing for up to 15 hours a day, prevented from
sleeping and beaten. The authorities gave no reason for his detention and no investigation
into his alleged torture was known to have been held.
Sultan al-Khalaifi, a blogger and founder of a local human rights organization, was
arrested on 2 March by state security officials in plain clothes who also searched
his home. He was detained incommunicado for a week and was released without charge
on 1 April.
In February, a 41-year-old Qatari man was reported to have been sentenced to a five-year
prison term after a court in Doha convicted him of blasphemy.
Migrant workers, who make up more than 80 per cent of Qatar’s population and come
mostly from south and south-east Asia, were inadequately protected under the law and
continued to be exploited and abused by employers. In May, the International Trade
Union Confederation criticized workers’ conditions in Qatar, particularly those of
women domestic workers and men employed in constructing facilities for football’s
2022 World Cup, and called for major improvements.
The authorities continued to deny Qatari nationality to some 100 people, mostly members
of al-Murra, a tribe said to have supported a coup attempt in 1996. Those stripped
of their nationality subsequently faced problems such as being denied employment opportunities,
social security and health care, and being prevented from obtaining Qatari passports.
They had no means of remedy before the courts.
At least six men and women, all foreign nationals, were sentenced to floggings of
either 40 or 100 lashes for offences related to alcohol consumption or “illicit sexual
relations”. Only Muslims considered medically fit were liable to have such sentences
carried out. It was not known if any of the sentences were implemented.
At least three people were sentenced to death; at least 19 prisoners were believed
to be on death row at the end of 2011, including at least six sentenced in 2001 after
they were convicted of involvement in a 1996 coup attempt. No executions were reported.
