July 24 – The United Nations has determined that the detention of Abdullah Ibhais (pictured), a former employee of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee for Legacy and Delivery, is ‘arbitrary’ and has called for his immediate release. 

In a 13-page opinion, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) concluded that there was no legal basis for his detention, that his deprivation of liberty resulted from the exercise of his rights and that there were multiple violations of his right to a fair trial.

In 2019, Ibhais was arrested after he voiced concerns over the treatment of migrant workers. He was re-arrested in 2021 and sentenced to three years on appeal for bribery.

An internal ‘Crisis Comms’ WhatsApp group chat from August 2019 was alerted to snippets showing a strike by workers, which was picked up by Gulf media. The workers were striking over unpaid wages.

The general secretary of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Hassan Al Thawadi ordered his team, including Ibhais, to say that no World Cup workers were involved. But at least 200 workers had been working on World Cup 2022 tournament projects. Highlighting the progress the Supreme Committee for Legacy and Delivery had made on worker welfare, Al Thawadi ordered his team to “put a narrative on it, put a spin on it.”

UNWGAD’s opinion is vindication for Ibhais, who remains in prison. The UN body has called for his release and for Ibhais to be provided with compensation. The State of Qatar did not submit any arguments or evidence to UNWGAD.

The opinion is also an indictment of FIFA’s own ‘spin’ around the treatment of migrant workers and their ultimate failure to provide any meaningful oversight or protection for workers on their project.

“FIFA washed its hands of Abdullal Ibhais a month before the Qatar World Cup despite clear evidence of a grossly unfair trial in a prosecution instigated by their Qatari partners,” said Nick McGeehan, co-director of FairSquare, which has followed the case from the beginning.

“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.”

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