Activist’s death reveals tough conditions inside Qatari jails

Ahmed Adel

Qatari political activist Fahd Buhindi was put in the notorious Hamour Jail three years ago. The jail is known as “Qatar’s Gauntanamo” due to the violations committed by Qatari authorities against the prisoners inside it.

Opposition figures are always subjected to the severest forms of torture inside the jail, including physical abuse.

Like all other prisoners, Buhindi was deprived of the simplest of rights inside the prison. He was also forced into solitary confinement.

Sorrowfully enough, Buhindi died on April 18 inside his jail cell. His death gave rise to a virtual uprising inside and outside Qatar.

Buhindi quickly became a trend on social media sites. Activists accused Qatari authorities of killing him only because he expressed his opposition to the regime of Qatari ruler Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Buhindi died of torture inside his jail, according to Qatari activists. They said his family members were denied the right to mourn him by performing a funeral prayer for him.

The same activists called for bringing Qatari authorities to account for killing Buhindi.

Surprisingly enough, the international rights group, Human Rights Watch, is totally silent on Buhindi’s death, even as it was quick to denounce similar tragedies.

Buhindi was born in 1983. He is a social media activist, a poet and a journalist. He graduated from Teesside University in the UK. He was the head of the Cultural Innovation Center at the Qatari state television. He was married and had two children.

Buhindi was thrown in jail a few years ago because he criticized the Qatari regime. Qatari authorities did not disclose the news of his arrest. Qatari citizens knew this news only from the media.

Nevertheless, the authorities had to confess his arrest days later.