Photographers at yesterday’s Tour of Qatar award presentation were told not to snap any shots of the Emir’s daughter, AFP reports.

According to the newswire:

An AFP reporter, who was at Friday’s event, also saw spectators being ordered to destroy their own pictures. If they didn’t, they “would be in serious trouble”, they were warned…

Media organisations were told they would be supplied with official pictures taken by a photographer of the al-Thani entourage, but five hours after the end of the race, photographs had still not been delivered.

The report didn’t specify which member of the ruling family the photo ban applied to, but Sheikha al Mayassa, chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority, presented yesterday’s prizes.

Among the winners: Golden Jersey leader Mark Cavendish of Britain, who took first place for the second time in the Qatar competition.

The directive appears to be a throwback to a previous era, when members of the local media were only allowed to use supplied photos of first lady Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Lance Cenar