Qatar cuts off tongues of its citizens to prevent criticism against ruling regime

Mustafa Kamel

Qatar has eliminated the last outlet for freedom of expression internally by issuing a law that punishes with imprisonment and a fine anyone who publicly deals with the public affairs of the state, inside or outside, or broadcasts, publishes, or re-publishes false or tendentious news, statements, rumors, or exciting propaganda. This brought Amnesty International to assert that Doha has limited freedom of expression and permanently eliminated it in the country.

Limiting freedom of expression

Amnesty International revealed that a new law in Qatar criminalizes publishing “false or tendentious” statements, which may significantly reduce freedom of expression, stressing that the new law is a worrying reversal of the commitments Qatar made in 2018, when it ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which a total of 173 states have ratified.

Lynn Maalouf, Research Director for the Middle East Program at Amnesty International, said that Qatar already has a set of repressive laws, but this new legislation deals another bitter blow to freedom of expression in the country and is a flagrant violation of international human rights laws. “It is extremely worrying that the Emir of Qatar approves legislation that can be used to silence peaceful critics,” she said, noting that the clause published in Qatar’s Official Gazette doubles the penalty “if the crime occurs in wartime.”

In a report by the Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights, she said that it is a confirmation of the role played by the Qatari state in interfering in the affairs of many countries under the guise of human rights and highlighting its keenness to promote human rights conditions and defend freedoms in various countries of the world. Doha issued new legislation No. 2 for the year 2020 by amending some provisions of the Penal Code promulgated by Law No. 11 of 2004, to completely eliminate the remaining freedom of opinion and expression inside Qatar or for its citizens abroad, and to erase what Doha claims of its support for freedom of opinion and expression in various countries.

No freedoms

Maat added in a report titled “New Qatar Legislation Eliminates the Last Breath for Freedom of Expression” that the law criminalizes any statement or action that, in one way or another, opposes or contravenes Doha’s policies in general and establishes a set of penalties, including imprisonment for a period of up to five years and a fine of up to 100,000 Qatari riyals (about $27,000) for everyone who exercises his right to expression, whether inside or outside Qatar, under the guise of “stirring up public opinion”, through a set of broad terms that include almost every saying contrary to the directions of the state.

Qatari circumvention

Maat explained in its report that this law confirms the circumvention of the Qatari constitution to protect freedom of opinion and expression, adding that while the Qatari constitution refers in its articles 46, 47, and 48 to the freedom of the individual to address public authorities, as well as guaranteeing freedom of opinion and scientific research and freedom of the press, printing and publishing. However, the constitution itself tampered with guaranteeing these rights by writing a text in accordance with the conditions specified by the law, meaning that the freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed by the Qatari constitution is not activated, because it is linked to other laws, including the Qatari Penal Code, which was amended at the beginning of 2020 to impose broad restrictions on this right. The law was written in loose form, lacking the slightest guarantees of freedom of expression, and it was specifically designed to abuse opponents and to prevent any opinions that might be opposed in one way or another to the policies of the Emir of Qatar. Among the expressions contained in the amendments that raised the concerns of Qataris is the handling of public affairs, sensational propaganda, destabilization, tendentiousness, stirring up public opinion, and harming the regime, all of which are loose terms that can be used to abuse the opposition. There is no precise interpretation of the term dealing with the public affairs of the state, for example, except that the law allows the security authorities to abuse every person who speaks about the public affairs of the state and becomes subject to the punishment prescribed in the law, without specifying what the public affairs of the state are. No guarantees have been put in place for this talk, and therefore it is the most dangerous material mentioned by the law and completely eliminates the concept of freedom of opinion and expression within Qatar.

Europe delegation

During a conference held in Doha on support for freedoms, the European Union delegation raised concerns about the Cybercrime Prevention Law in Qatar, and the special representative of the European Union for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, expressed concern about Qatari laws related to the press and freedom of expression.

At a conference in Doha calling for the protection of activists on social media, Gilmore said, “I am concerned about some laws related to freedom of expression and the press.” He called on Qatar to abolish many laws that limit freedom of expression, citing the 1979 press law that regulates the licensing of publications and allows officials to request corrections to news.

Under the law, publications can be suspended for up to three months if they publish news deemed to be in conflict with the public interest, and Gilmore said that he raised these concerns with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar.