According to NRK were the two in the country on a reportage trip ahead of next year’s World Cup.
– We are first and foremost very happy and relieved that both are safe and on their way home. I spoke to them early today. Then they were affected by what they had been through, but eventually got both food and some sleep, says broadcasting director Thor Gjermund Eriksen.
– We have done everything we could to get Ghorbani and Ekeland released and bring them safely back to Norway, he continues.
BROADCASTING MANAGER: – We are first and foremost very happy and relieved that both are safe and on their way home. Stock Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
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Smooth cell for almost 30 hours
VG writes that NRK has received confirmation that the two were on board a plane from Qatar Airways that took off from Doha at 23.35 Norwegian time on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, the journalists spent almost 30 hours in solitary confinement, and they are deprived of mobile phones, PCs and camera equipment.
The two arrived in Qatar on Sunday, November 14, and the next day they had an agreement with regime critic Abdullah Ibhais. However, he was arrested by the police just hours before the interview appointment, writes VG.
According to NRK itself, the concerns for the journalists arose when they did not contact the editorial staff before departure, as agreed. Via sources, the channel eventually learned that they had been arrested.
No indictment
Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor Party) states that she has received confirmation that the two have been released. The Norwegian embassy in Abu Dhabi has been in contact with Qatari authorities about the case, she says.
– As far as we understand, no charges have been brought either. We can confirm that the two citizens work for NRK and that they were arrested while performing their duties as journalists, Huitfeldt writes in a comment to NRK.
– It is important that journalists are allowed to carry out their journalistic work without interference from the authorities, also in Qatar, says the Foreign Minister to VG.
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: – It is important that journalists are allowed to carry out their journalistic work without interference from the authorities, also in Qatar, says Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB
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Football President: Totally unacceptable
Football President Terje Svendsen describes it as “completely unacceptable for the Qatari authorities to arrest journalists who conduct factual, critical journalism”.
– We react very strongly to this and are deeply concerned about the conditions of journalists in Qatar, he says VG.
– Our clear position will be communicated to the political level in Fifa and also via the Uefa group that handles the Qatar issues. Even more important, however, is that the Norwegian authorities get involved in the case. Qatar is an important partner for the Norwegian state, and a case where Qatari authorities arrest Norwegian journalists is not a development that can be left to the sports or football movement alone, says Svendsen.
Norway should protest
Norwegian authorities and the Football Association should protest strongly against the arrest, says Secretary General Elin Floberghagen of the Norwegian Press Association.
– This is completely unacceptable and sensational. It looks like a crystal clear attempt to prevent journalism and thus a violation of press freedom, she tells VG.
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