Qatar: jailed official who blew whistle on World Cup labour abuses should be freed

Abdullah Ibhais, former media manager for World Cup organising committee, was jailed after informing Qatari authorities of migrant worker labour abuses

Qatari authorities are ignoring a UN committee’s call for Ibhais’ immediate release, and FIFA has failed to support his case 

‘Everything about his ordeal - from the lack of due process and denial of family visits to the use of a forced confession - represents a travesty of justice’ - Aya Majzoub  

The Qatari authorities should immediately free a Jordanian former official for the 2022 men’s World Cup, Abdullah Ibhais, after a UN committee determined that he’s been arbitrarily detained for nearly three years, Amnesty International, FairSquare and Human Rights Watch said today.

Ibhais, a former media manager for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, was arrested in 2019 after voicing concerns over the treatment of migrant workers on World Cup construction projects. 

In August 2019, after a large group of migrant workers living in the al-Shahaniya labour camp went on strike in protest at unpaid wages, Ibhais provided evidence to his colleagues in the Supreme Committee that some of the workers were involved in stadium construction for the 2022 World Cup. “Lying is not Qatar’s way, and should not be”, he told a senior colleague in one message. Just weeks later, in November 2019, Qatar’s World Cup organisers submitted a report to the police alleging that Ibhais had been engaged in bribery with the intent to harm state security.

Ibhais sought support from FIFA via its online whistleblowing platform in September 2021. In November 2021, FIFA stated that “any person deserves a trial that is fair” and said it would “continue to follow this matter closely”, but made no commitment to supporting Ibhais beyond this. Ibhais was arrested again in November 2021 and is serving a three-year sentence for bribery.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention took up Ibhais’ case after his family submitted a request in December 2022, saying that Ibhais had been imprisoned arbitrarily on the basis of a demonstrably unfair trial. In its 13-page opinion on the case, the UN body concluded there was no legal basis for Ibhais’ detention, that the deprivation of his liberty resulted from the exercise of his rights and that there were multiple violations of his right to a fair trial - including refusing to investigate his allegations of a coerced confession, denying him legal assistance and denying him the right to access evidence.

Ibhais, a father of two, is due for release in October but because the court also imposed a fine alongside his custodial sentence this could be extended to April 2025 if he can’t pay the fine. Amnesty has called his trial unfair and said allegations that Ibhais was threatened and coerced into making incriminating confessions should be independently investigated. 

The Qatari government was given two months to reply to the UN Working Group and to contest its serious allegations but did not reply. The Working Group has called on the Qatari government to “release Mr Ibhais and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law”.

Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director, said:

“The UN Working Group has emphatically confirmed what many of us have been saying for years - that it is long past time for the Qatari authorities to release Abdullah Ibhais, quash his conviction and ensure his right to an effective remedy including adequate compensation. Everything about his ordeal - from the lack of due process and denial of family visits to the use of a forced confession - represents a travesty of justice that must immediately be brought to an end.”

Nick McGeehan, Co-director of FairSquare, said:

“FIFA washed its hands of Abdulla Ibhais a month before the Qatar World Cup despite clear evidence of a grossly unfair trial in a prosecution instigated by their Qatari partners. This highly authoritative decision should compel them to act and publicly call for him to be freed and allowed to return to his young family.” 

Minky Worden, Human Rights Watch’s Global Initiatives Director, said: 

“The Qatari authorities’ lack of response to the Working Group’s determination about the violations of fair trial rights in Abdullah Ibhais’ trial speaks volumes. Ibhais faced retaliation for simply raising concerns on widespread and well-documented migrant worker abuses like wage delays. The Qatari authorities should immediately release him and compensate him for the unjust persecution he faced.”