Qatar seeks release of four citizens held in Saudi
HE the Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Dr Ali bin Smaikh alMarri demanded the Saudi authorities to immediately reveal the whereabouts of the four Qatari nationals, victims of enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention, and held the Saudis fully responsible for their safety.
The NHRC chairman called for sending a UN fact-finding mission to know the Qatari nationals’ fate. Three Qataris are victims of enforced disappearance and another citizen has been arbitrarily detained. Their fate remains unknown since they were arbitrarily and unfairly detained by the Saudi authorities.
He also urged the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Enforced Disappearance to undertake a joint field visit to Saudi Arabia to know the situation of the Qatari nationals detained there.
In press statements during his visit to the United Kingdom, Dr al-Marri underlined that the NHRC has “serious concerns” about the fate of the Qatari nationals who have held for a long time.
He described the Saudi authorities’ actions against Qatari nationals as shameful and inhumane which will leave psychological effects on future generations.
So far, neither the NHRC nor the families of the detained Qatari nationals can know their whereabouts or even communicate with them or know their fate, he said.
The NHRC chairman praised the international organisations’ co-operation with the National Human Rights Committee, urging them to exert more pressure the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to seek the Qatari nationals’ release before it is too late.
He noted that the NHRC provided all international organisations and the United Nations with the information and data about the Qatari nationals, and that the committee is in constant contact with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Enforced Disappearance.
He renewed calls to the international organisations and the international community to compel Saudi Arabia to respect international law and reveal the fate of the four Qatari citizens and release them immediately.