Qatar: Open letter to Emir of Qatar regarding the travel ban of five innocent citizens and the imprisonment of two of them - Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

On 11 May 2021 CIHRS joined 28 organizations in denouncing the imposition of an arbitrary travel ban on five Qatari citizens: Mohammed Yousef Al-Sulaiti, Saoud Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Thani, Dr. Najeeb Mohammed Al-Nuaimi, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Bu Matar Al-Muhannadi and Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Bin Saoud Al-Abdulrahman Al-Thani. Both Al-Sulaiti and Bin Khalifa Ahmed Al-Tahni are currently incarcerated on trumped up charges. In an open letter addressed to the Emir of Qatar, the 29 signatories demanded that he use his power as head of state of Qatar to release the two incarcerated citizens and lift the travel ban against the five citizens.

His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, with respect.

We, the undersigned human rights organizations, call on you to immediately order the revocation of the travel ban imposed on five Qatari citizens, Mohammed Yousef Al-Sulaiti, Saoud Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Thani, Dr. Najeeb Mohammed Al-Nuaimi, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Bu Matar Al-Muhannadi, and Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Bin Saoud Al-Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

On 4 October 2020, the State Security Bureau arrested Mohammed Yousef Al-Sulaiti from his home and placed him in solitary confinement, due to a tweet on his Twitter account in which he protested the arbitrary order to prevent him from travelling. His Twitter account disappeared after his arrest and he is still being detained in a prison belonging to the State Security Bureau.

On 16 August 2020, he submitted a request to meet the Public Prosecutor in addition to a petition requesting his travel ban be lifted. The two requests were rejected, despite the fact that he clarified his need to return in order to liquidate his property and return to his homeland. The travel ban has caused severe psychological and material damage to him.

On 18 April 2016, Saoud Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Thani, a member of the extended ruling family who does not have government responsibilities, was banned from travelling based on a directive issued by the National Command Centre at the Ministry of Interior, on the orders of the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior at the time, Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. On 1 April 2019, he filed a complaint with the Administrative Court of First Instance to challenge the travel ban issued by the Ministry of Interior. Following this complaint, the Ministry of Interior decided to cancel its order preventing him from travelling. Despite this, and instead of allowing him to travel, the State Security Bureau issued an order that included a travel ban on 2 May 2019.

On 26 June 2017, the Capital Security Administration informed Dr. Najeeb Mohammed Al-Nuaimi, a human rights lawyer, that the travel ban previously imposed on him on 7 January 2017 had been renewed despite the fact that the Appeal Court in Qatar revoked it on 30 May 2017. On 8 January 2017, he received a text message from the Public Prosecution, that includes his ID number, confirming a travel ban against him without explaining the actual reasons behind it. Dr. Al-Nuaimi is a well-known human rights lawyer who voluntarily defended prisoners of conscience in Qatar.

Abdullah Bin Ahmed Bu Matar Al-Muhannadi, 58 years of age, was placed under a travel ban as of 1 September 2013 by the State Security Bureau, which also put security restrictions and monitoring on the use of his ID card, which is necessary to complete various transactions according to the procedures in force in the country. He met a large number of officials and submitted requests to various competent authorities for the revocation of the ban or an explanation of its rationale, but to no avail. At the beginning of 2021, his case was transferred to the State Security Prosecution. Due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, he submitted an electronic request to the State Security Prosecution, which refused his request without giving reasons or referring the request to the judiciary, and thus the travel ban against him remains in place. In recent years, Al-Muhannadi liquidated and closed his company due to severe security restrictions imposed on his personal ID card, which disrupted all his transactions in state departments and banks, leading to losses in the millions. It also prevented him from carrying out any commercial or social activity, without knowing the reasons behind the continued arbitrary travel ban against him, which also caused him additional psychological pain.

Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Bin Saoud Al-Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a member of the extended ruling family who does not have government responsibilities, known on social media as the “Prince of Time”, posted a video on 17 March 2021, on his YouTube account, in which he said that he was living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he was married to an Emirati woman and they have three children. He was a successful businessman there. He was ordered to return by the Qatari government after the crisis between several Gulf countries, including the UAE and Qatar. He returned “in compliance with the orders of the Emir of Qatar,” as he said in his statement on 16 July 2017 while boarding a private plane, and since that time he has been banned from travelling. He also said, “I appeal to the honourable people to convey my message to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad.” Recent local reports indicated that he was imprisoned nearly a month ago by the State Security Service because of his peaceful activities on the Internet.

These arbitrary travel bans are inconsistent with Article 36 of the Qatari Constitution, which states that, “Personal freedom shall be guaranteed and no person may be arrested, detained or searched, neither may his freedom of residence and mobility be restricted, save under the provisions of the Law.”

Furthermore, these arbitrary measures do not comply with human rights principles and seriously harm Qatar’s international reputation, especially as it prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

The undersigned regional and international organizations call on the Emir of Qatar, as head of state, to use his powers to immediately release Mohammad Yousef al-Sulaiti and Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Bin Saoud Al-Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and to grant the five citizens currently subjected to the travel ban their right to free movement, especially as the holiday of Eid approaches, in order to allow them to celebrate with their families.

Signed: