The family of Qatar’s World Cup whistleblower Abdullah Ibhis confirmed that their son was tortured in prison, according to the paper.Keeper” British.
Human rights organization FairSquare has published a letter from the family of Abdullah Ibhis, who was media director for Qatar’s Supreme Surrender and Inheritance Committee, accusing FIFA of “cruel indifference” for ignoring their case.
And the family’s letter stated: “We call on the Qatari authorities to release Abdullah immediately, and we call on all human rights organizations, journalists, activists, players and World Cup fans to raise their voices and demand Abdullah’s freedom.” “.
On Wednesday, Abhay’s case was referred to a team of UN human rights experts, who the family hopes will issue an official statement confirming that her case constitutes “arbitrary detention”.
In August 2019, Ibhis recommended to the Supreme Committee for Surrender and Inheritance in Qatar that it recognize its role in the violations of migrant workers’ rights regarding the construction of stadiums.
Subsequently, a file was filed by the Supreme Committee containing charges against Ibhis, after he was forced to “coercively sign” confessions for committing corruption offences, as he was convicted in April of the year 2021 for “bribery,” violation of the integrity of contracts and profits” and “willful damage” with public money.
Ibhis will serve up to three years in prison unless pardoned.
According to his family, Ibhis spent four days, between November 2 and 6, “in complete darkness in solitary confinement after being physically assaulted by prison guards.”
He stressed that “temperatures in his prison were close to zero, as the prison’s central air conditioning was used as an instrument of torture”, noting that “their son’s body was covered in bruises and he was unable to sleep due to of the extreme cold.”
Abhis says he was jailed after raising fears that the Supreme Committee will deny that World Cup workers carried out a strike involving between 4,000 and 6,000 workers in Doha.
He explained that he found that 200 workers in the “Education City” and “Al-Bayt” stadiums had no drinking water and had not received their salary for four months.
However, the Qatari authorities insist that Ibhis, removed from office in 2019, has been convicted on fraud and corruption charges, while the organization Fair Square stresses that this man has been denied a “due process “.
A Fire Square official, Nicholas McGeehan, said Ibhis had “written directly with members of FIFA’s human rights team” to inform them of the abuse.
The Abhays family also directly criticizes FIFA in their letter, saying: “We, the family of Abdullah Abhis, appeal to FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, who once said that the World Cup is the voice of the marginalized “.
He continued: “Your actions have not lived up to your words. FIFA is complicit in Abdullah’s imprisonment and FIFA’s silence is tearing our family apart. We reject FIFA’s cruel indifference and refuse to surrender “.
According to the Guardian, FIFA and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy were contacted for comment and both confirmed they were aware of the message and its contents.
