Qatar admits it abducted missing human rights workers
The government of Qatar has confirmed it is responsible for the arrest of two human rights workers investigating the conditions of migrant laborers in the Arabian Gulf kingdom, which has been accused to maintaining working conditions akin to slavery by a variety of international human rights groups.
The Associated Press reports that the two workers are employees of a Norwegian organization called Global Network for Rights and Development. One of the detained is a 52-year-old researcher named Krishna Upahyaya. The other is a 36-year-old photographer named Ghimere Gundev.
Both men were arrested Aug. 31 as they tried to leave Qatar, according to the AP. Time reports the men are British citizens of Nepalese heritage. Time also says that the two men told their colleagues abroad they were being followed and harassed by people they suspected were plainclothes police officers. An employee of the British consulate told the AP that the consulate was assisting the men, but refused to provide any details about what that assistance may entail. The AP says that in the statement taking credit for the mens' disappearance, Qatar claimed they had violated Qatari law, but did not provide any details about what those violations were. The statement said the men were being treated humanely according to the generally accepted principles of human rights. Qatar's treatment of migrant laborers came into the spotlight after a series of articles examing Qatar's preparation for its World Cup appeared in The Guardian newspaper. These articles documented instances of death caused by overworking, withheld wages, and the seizure of identification documents like passports. The theft of such documents makes it impossible for people to leave a country, and is a common tactic among human traffickers.
Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022.
