– No date, no answer. Its nothing. It’s just frozen, says a frustrated Ziyad Ibhais to news on Wednesday morning. He is the brother of Abdullah Ibhais, who has been sentenced to prison for allegedly receiving bribes while working for the World Cup committee in Qatar. The family has always denied the accusations. They believe he has been imprisoned for having been critical, both internally and externally, of the treatment of migrant workers at VM facilities. They also claim that Ibhais signed a confession under duress. WC CEO: Abdullah Ibhais worked high up in the WC organization until he was arrested on 12 November 2019. Photo: Privat In February they appealed the case. They are still waiting for a date for a new court hearing. On Wednesday, Ibhais was denied a temporary release in a court hearing in Qatar. According to the brother, less than five minutes had been set aside for the hearing. Ibhais himself was not allowed to be present at his own hearing, says the brother. Amnesty: False confession In February, Ibhais appealed to the Court of Cassation in Qatar. A court of cassation is a court that annuls court decisions for formal reasons or misinterpretation of the law. For over eight months they have been waiting for an answer, but nothing has happened, according to the family. Abdullah Ibhais worked high up in the system in the marketing department of the WC organization in Qatar. There, among other things, he used his position to say that WC workers were part of a protest against non-payment in 2019. In an internal WhatsApp thread, from which news has seen excerpts, Ibhais expressed that he believed that WC – the organization had to take responsibility for its workers. A few months later he was arrested, allegedly for having received bribes in connection with a tender process. In 2021, he said in several interviews that he felt that he was not heard in the case of the WC workers. He was initially sentenced to five years in prison, but pending an appeal he was out of prison for a few months in 2021. On 15 November last year, he was arrested again. In the morning the police came to his house and arrested him. Only hours later, he had an interview agreement with news, an interview that was never carried out. In the appeal case, the sentence was reduced from five to three years in prison. CONVERSATION: Abdullah Ibhais was allowed to speak to his family over FaceTime in December, five days after he ended his hunger strike in prison. Photo: Screenshot from the family of Ibhais Ibhais started a hunger strike in prison immediately. At the request of his family, he ended his hunger strike after a month. Ibhais’ family has appealed the sentence to the Court of Cassation because they believe that Ibhais has never done anything wrong and that he has been convicted on the basis of a coerced confession. Amnesty has gone through all the legal documents in the case. They support Ibhais. – During the interrogations, he received threats that if he did not sign a completed confession, it would jeopardize the safety of his family. Abdullah finally gave in to the threats and pressure, and signed – even though he had not done what he was accused of. He also did not have access to a lawyer, the human rights organization writes on its pages. Court hearing in less than five minutes – We submitted the appeal in February and have not yet received a hearing date. We even sent the appeal again, but we still haven’t heard anything, writes Ibhais’ lawyer, Dr. Anas Al Merstani, in an email to news. He adds that it is not necessarily unusual for such an appeal to take so long to be tried in the legal system. – The original court decision went against my client, and there are many mistakes in the judgement. That is why we have appealed to the Court of Cassation, writes the lawyer. Abdullah Ibhai’s brother, Ziyad, uses slightly stronger words. – This proves again that there is something political behind it. What is holding the court back from taking this up for so many months? There must be someone who says they should not take this yet, says Ziad Ibhais. news has contacted the court of cassation in Qatar. They have not responded to our repeated inquiries about this matter. While waiting for the appeal to be taken up, the family and the lawyer have applied three times for a temporary release. The first two applications were rejected by the court, but on Wednesday Abdullah finally got his hearing. – If they release him, it could be a positive signal (with regard to the appeal case, journ.anm.). We just want a fair trial, said the brother Ziyad to news on Tuesday. But it was not a release. – A big burden Broren says at the same time that there are certain things that are moving in a positive direction. In August, Ibhais was visited in prison by the national human rights organization in Qatar. They said there were positive developments going on, but couldn’t say more than that. The human rights organization supported an application for a temporary release, but it was therefore rejected on Wednesday. FAMILY: Ibhais has a wife and two children who still live in Qatar. Photo: Privat The wife was allowed to be present at the court hearing. Abdullah’s brother tells of her despair: – His wife made a decision to stay in Qatar, stay by his side. She works and pays for the daily expenses while taking care of the children. It’s a big burden on her shoulders, says Ziyad Ibhais. news has not succeeded in getting in touch with the national human rights organization in Qatar. It is three and a half weeks until the World Cup in football begins. The former employee of the WC committee will not get to experience the championship he once worked to arrange. Because when the first World Cup match between Qatar and Ecuador kicks off, Abdullah Ibhais begins his second year of serving time for a crime he believes he did not commit.
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Qatar critic is said to have been refused release – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
