Two British human rights workers investigating the plight of migrant labourers constructing facilities for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup have disappeared and are feared to be held incommunicado by the Gulf state’s security forces reports the Independent. Krishna Upadhyaya and Ghimire Gundev vanished on Sunday 31 August after sending texts to colleagues saying they were being followed by plain clothes police officers and feared they arrest as they tried to leave Qatar on flights that day. The two men, who are of Nepalese extraction and both carry British passports, had been in the Qatari capital Doha to record interviews with Nepali labourers and investigate conditions in accommodation camps. They were working in cooperation with Nepalese diplomats in the city.
The Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD), employing the men, said it believed its employees were being held by the Qatari police and were at risk of maltreatment or torture: “We are deeply concerned that our employees, both British citizens, may have been subjected to enforced disappearance and are currently at risk of torture.”
[Qatar has been strongly criticised for the working conditions of its 1.4m migrant labourers as it races to spend £123bn on new infrastructure ahead of the 2022 World Cup. More than 400 Nepalese, the vast majority of them in Qatar to work on construction projects, died in the Gulf state between January 2012 and this May – a death rate of one worker per day. Qatar has insisted that none of the deaths occurred on World Cup sites. Qatar has been criticised for routinely holding detainees incommunicado for weeks or months at a time. Amnesty International has described the tactic as “standard practice” and said it can be followed by lengthy further detention without charge or trial.]
British human rights investigators disappear in Qatar, after being followed by plain clothes police – Middle East – World – The Independent.
This entry was posted on September 4, 2014 at 12:59 and is filed under films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders.
Tags: 2022 FIFA World Cup, 2022 World Cup, Documentary film, Forced disappearance, Ghimire Gundev, Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD), investigation, Krishna Upadhyaya, labour rights, migrant labour, Nepal, Qatar, repression, The Independent, UK
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
September 4, 2014 at 18:51
Dear hans
Maybe your ngo would like to participate in the inter active dialogue on my report to the council, which i will be presenting on the tenth
Registration online with the hr council is tomorrow friday at two pm
Kind regards
Sent from my iPad
LikeLike
September 8, 2014 at 20:42
[…] Human rights investigators in Qatar: “being followed by the police here. Looks like they will give… […]
LikeLike