Four days after Lauren Patterson, a 24-year-old British expat, went missing in Qatar, the Ministry of Interior has announced that multiple suspects have been arrested in connection with her death.
In a statement just released in Arabic on its website, the MOI said the suspects, involved in the murder of a European woman, have been referred to the Public Prosecutor’s office. It did not say how many people were detained or list their nationalities. Here’s the English version.
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Alison Patterson, Lauren’s mother, is reportedly in Doha currently. Days ago, the widow posted this tribute to her daughter:
“She was truly a remarkable girl, my rock, always there for everyone. I know she’s in heaven now in her Daddy’s arms.”
So far, Patterson’s close friends, family members and Qatar’s Ministry of Interior have declined to comment to Doha News or several other media outlets on Patterson’s fate. The British embassy here has not issued any statements beyond the fact that Patterson was missing and they were providing the family consular support.
Although some grim details are being reported in some British newspapers, Doha News has not been able to verify or confirm them, and has chosen not to report the allegations until they can be supported.
For example, despite a tweet (that has since been deleted) sent by a Qatar resident asserting that Patterson was sexually assaulted, killed and dumped outside of La Cigale, employees there emphatically denied to Doha News that any body was found outside of their hotel. No police cordon could be seen, nor any sign of unusual activity outside of the hotel’s dumpster area yesterday morning.
Notably, unlike in the case of the American teacher who was killed here last year, the family of Patterson has not requested help in finding out what happened, but instead has repeatedly asked journalists to leave them in peace.
This week, Patterson’s boyfriend, James Grima, was among the first to sound an alarm about her disappearance. His Facebook post seeking the woman went viral on Sunday, but only hours later he updated his page saying she had died.
This week, he also posted again on Facebook about his loss:
“Although I don’t know if I will ever come to terms with what happened, I have all our funny & beautiful memories that we shared together…”
“I love you so much babe, I really do and I can’t get over the fact that you were taken away so cruelly, it really breaks my heart to think about it.”
But now, both posts speaking of her death have been removed, and Grima’s profile now appears to have been deactivated.
Safety concerns
Meanwhile, the lack of information about the case has caused noticeable stress among some Doha residents, especially single women, who wonder whether they are safe here. Though Qatar has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, it has seen a six-fold increase in crime over the past decade due to its growing population.
Whatever happened to Patterson should thus serve as a reminder that people should be cautious in every country, commenters on Doha News have said.
In a post on a Doha News story about the missing teacher, Marisa Marinho said:
“I got flashed in Hyatt Plaza car park last year, midday, pushing a babypram. This sort of thing happens everywhere in the world, but my shock was that I thought it would never happen in Qatar. I decided to go to the police, because there had been reports of a guy alluring children into his car in a nearby school. The police did not even keep my name and phone number. We should look out for each other, that is why I am posting this today.”
And commenter Ivan Brandieswski called for greater transparency:
More deft press handling and pr skill. How hard is it to get one, just one government spokesperson trained to be the public face of the MOI and such? Here’s hoping that the next announcement they make is of an arrest.
Thoughts?
I can see why you are cautious about repeating the Daily Mirror assertion that “she got into a taxi with a group of people including her ex-boyfriend – a local man.” However, this is exactly the sort of omission that leads to international groups saying that the press in Qatar are self-censoring themselves.
That line is not in the Daily Mail’s story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2460699/Lauren-Patterson-2-held-murder-British-teacher-Qatar.html
If it was before, they deleted it. We are cautious about running unverified rumor as fact, because that’s not journalism.
Seems like they deleted it because all the rumours were in their article yesterday
It’s the same article that was published yesterday, it’s just been edited.
There’s a similar caption though: “Mystery: The primary school teacher (pictured with friends) was reportedly last seen at a nightclub in the capital, Doha, with two Qatari men, one of whom was an ex-boyfriend”
It is in the Daily Mail story you’ve linked, in the caption to the second photo.
That’s three national newspapers which have said that she was last seen with a local man (Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, and Times), and yet you are still reticent to include that detail in your story. I wonder why.
The fact is though that until the official investigation has been concluded then everything stated on social media and indeed in the British tabloids must be treated as pure speculation and conjecture. A number of the tabloids printed the tweet about the body being found behind Le Cigale however it is now being reported (by the the same newspaper) that the body was discovered in the desert (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2462691/Lauren-Patterson-Body-British-teacher-Qatar-desert.html).
So the question is should DN be reporting on speculation, fact or a combination of the two (ensuring that they are not presenting speculation as fact)?
The MoI could clear this up in a minutes simply by providing more information to the public.
They could confirm the identity of the body and they could advise that they have suspect(s) in custody (which they already have) but beyond that really what information do you expect them to release?
Cause of death.
No way they can release that until the investigation is concluded or they at least have the full coroners report. They also probably have to wait for DNA and tox screen results which they may have to send out of the country for analysis, it all takes time.
I think there are a few things they could make clearer. At the moment the mixed reports in the international press have left people with a few unanswered questions.
1) are they still pursuing anyone? This whole Saudi rumour needs to be squashed.
2) minimal description of location of the body, we don’t want full details, but there are differing locations circling in the media.
3) CCTV footage is being reviewed. British reports were stating that police had not asked for any footage at the time of the report.
4) (as you have stated) That DNA, toxicological reports are being carried out to determine causes of death.
This would clear a few discussions which are circulating in media and social circles.
I agree, certain high level details about the case could be disclosed and the four you have listed in your post fall into this category, it is worth noting though that even the British embassy (to my knowledge) have not released any further information either, I don’t think they have even officially acknowledged the identify of the victim.
Qatar clearly does not have to deal with this type of case very often (thankfully) compared to other countries that have been mentioned (UK and US for example), and I wonder if as a result of that they are reluctant to disclose information due to the fear that if it is later contradicted then they could appear negligent.
At this point, it truly seems odd that more details aren’t forthcoming. Her mother should have arrived and had a chance to ID the body at this point — so authorities can either confirm it is her or not. But in typical fashion, the authorities here will not say anything — which will ensure that rumors define people’s knowledge. So minus any more official details, people here will go on the info they do have, which comes from a friend who knows someone who used to work with her, or someone who knew her when she was with this ex-boyfriend and thus knows which family he came from….
One would think the powers that be would like to discourage this societal reliance on rumors, but every decision they make serves only to reinforce the Doha gossip mill and perpetuate its power.
Unfortunately, the authorities here have not yet caught up with the times. They still don’t seem to be able to comprehend and deal with the reality of social media and other changes in communication that has made it so easy for people to share facts / rumors.
This is true everywhere & few know how to deal effectively with these issues. The invention of the “citizen journalist” through social media who doesn’t have any knowledge or concern for professional ethics has even tainted a number of professional media outlets whose correspondents throw caution to the wind to compete and grab the “scoop”.
And social media creates false perceptions, public concern, etc. The MoI needs to catch-up and get ahead of these things. Based on what is being blogged and written in the foreign press, there is a lot of inflamatory speculation in the absence of facts.
A woman is exposed to in a car park and her name and number not even taken. Low crime rate? Yes, is it in part because you can’t actually report crime. I bet this ‘flashing’ is not recorded. Basic investigative process would have seen this flasher identified pretty quickly given the area the offence was committed. But he is free to go about his business.
I feel I should add some details: The guy was driving a white american saloon car, I was not quick enough to keep his license plate. He was tall, had his face covered, he drove by and called me into his car. I was heard by the police (women department, 4 ladies), and because I could not make a description of his face or had his license plate, they did not keep a record of the incident. I insisted they should at least keep my name and number, in case other women came forward with a similar complaint. They said there was no need.
Marisa, So sorry this happened to you. Given your description of events, as a 22 year policeman, with graduate qualifications in investigation and experience in capacity developing/training police services throughout the world in crime investigation, all i can say is that this crime could have been solved. Your description of the vehicle is a great start, your contact with the suspect including conversation invaluable, the location is very public which assists investigators greatly, CCTV is available, further reports and intelligence collated with yours, the list goes on and on. This type of offender does not stop at one, he will be reoffending. It makes me really wonder how much crime is not reported or is reported to police but never recorded.
Thank you for your comment. I also thought that this guy would do it again… It was upsetting because this was not in some dark alley at 2am, it was midday, and I had my baby with me. I thought of the school’s letter warning parents of a guy alluring children. I was not distressed but I felt very angry when I came back from the Police Department. I felt unsafe. Doha became a very different place to me since that day. It may sound silly, but what happened was an eye opener. Yes, we do not get mugged in the streets of Doha, crime rates are lower and so on, but what exactly are these “rates” based on? Under this debate, it would be very interesting to investigate how many women have gone missing in Qatar, how many cases of rape have been “reported”, and I am not referring to expat women only.
Hi Marisa. As I am pretty sure you would have not been offered any assistance as a victim, can I just suggest you contact your Embassy or Consular Office and seek some assistance re some counselling as a victim. I am not sure if you will receive any but it is worth just contacting them explaining the circumstances, the lack of assistance locally and seeking some help. There is no shame whatsoever in asking for a bit of help. My best wishes to you.
One British newspaper has even quoted the name of one local man in connection with this. (I won’t put his name here, until the police confirm they have arrested him)
We need to remember that is is still early days in the investigation and if it was a Qatari that killed this woman, it does not represent all Qataris. In the same way the 16 year old Qatari got kills if Hastings, UK does not represent all Britons. (Although some Qatar reaction at the time was over the top and hysterical)
Let’s hope Doha News keeps following this case so we do not live in an information vacuum and the police need to do their job and get better at PR in English or this will be another stick for the worlds media to beat Qatar over 2022.
I agree, the nationality of the individuals at this point is irrelevant, what is relevant is that the authorities have the suspects in custody which means that the police are doing their job and hopefully justice will be served for the family.
The nationality only becomes relevant *IF* the individuals are treated differently due to their nationality.
I don’t mind filling in the gaps, since it is already in the public domain.
The Times newspaper reports that there have been claims the victim “had been out on Saturday night
with a group of friends including an ex-boyfriend, Nasser al-Naimi.”
The Daily Mail reports that “a friend said the ex-boyfriend had since gone to Saudi Arabia.”
Wasn’t this ” filling in the gaps” method for arriving to conclusions what Bush and your boss Blair used to arrive at the conclusion that Iraq had WMDs? I guess since it worked so well the 1st time, you’re using it here again!
1. A woman has been killed and three British national newspapers have reported she was last seen with her Qatari ex-boyfriend. The Qataris are a litigious bunch, so I doubt very much whether The Times will have printed a rumour without verification.
2. None of your local press will report the details because of your bizarre libel laws which provide no protection for publishing damaging but truthful information.
3. If this had happened in India, there would already be a national debate in progress about whether there was a problem in their society with men’s attitude towards women. I predict that no such debate will occur in Qatar.
4. Qatar does not have a sterling record in bringing well-connected nationals to trial. It seems perfectly rational to question whether justice is likely to be swift or severe after the circus surrounding the trial of the ambassador to Belgium and his wife.
5. That the ex-boyfriend has reportedly flown to Saudi should be comforting to you, as it shows that at least one of your neighbours is widely considered to have a worse track-record than Qatar in pursuing those who use violence against women. It’s a bit of a back-handed compliment though, being favourably compared to Saudi.
6. Yes. I admit it – I’m a stooge of Bush and Blair. I personally bombed the crap out of Iraq and Afghanistan. So did every Briton who reads newspapers. Get over yourself – not every Westerner agreed with the war, and I was one of the million Londoners who marched against it. The TV channels didn’t show many Qataris protesting outside Al Udeid against the war, did they?
7. Don’t cry “Western Imperialist Racist” every time someone criticises Qatar. It becomes less believable.
Extremely well said on all counts.
Of course he’s gone to KSA. I’m waiting for Abdulrahman or some other Qatari to dismiss this by saying it is a mere coincidence that the chief suspect took a flight out of the country. That anyone in Qatar is baffled by the negative publicity it receives in the Western press never ceases to amaze me. You can build all the shiny stadiums you want, but when you allow murderers of children to avoid trial and travel freely outside the country simply because they are well-connected citizens, people tend to take a negative view.
By “murders of children” I presume you’re referring to the negligent homicide in the Villagio case? Well David, at least the “murders” of children were tried. Care to share with me the day when Bush, Blair and Howard will face justice for the 100,000s of civilian deaths they caused?
What is baffling and sad is that after all this time you still think so little of me as to believe that I’m dismissing any facts here. Mr. Gourlay has provided no proof of his claim other than to say that the Daily Mail has reported “a friend said the ex-boyfriend had since gone to Saudi Arabia.” Not even a link to the article.
Of course, you once compared someone to Neville Chamberlain for merely suggesting working with Qataris to resolve the problems faced by the laborers. I guess that makes us the Nazis!
There is now way you will convince any reasonable person that justice been served in the Villagio fire (even yourself). It’s legacy is the assumptions people are making in this case.
My comparison to Chamberlain was related to someone saying Qataris should not be heavily criticized for their abuse of human rights because it might agitate them into ignoring the criticism–this is the definition of appeasement. I fully stand by that remark.
What is really baffling is the extent to which you are in denial about this case. That you have to bring in the Gulf War, Nazis, WMDS, etc. etc. show be a sign of how far you are reaching. Stop using other countries’ mistakes to deflect from those of your own. No one here cites Qatar’s continued abuse of human rights and multi-tiered application of justice to justify the existence of Gitmo; why do the reverse? You don’t like it when expats group 250,000 Qataris into one pool, but you freely associate do the same with 360 million Americans in your association of them with a guy who was president almost a decade ago (a man who never won even half of the popular vote).
Normally I agree with you, but this instance I am afraid we will have to agree to disagree.
Some of the murders are still walking free in Belgium with a diplomatic passport.
Perhaps you could’ve shared #1 with links to the articles instead of just saying you’ve read somewhere that someone said the former boyfriend ran away from the country. I would’ve had no problem accepting your claim.
As for the rest of your drivel, prove that Qatari men are 1/4 as bad toward women as their counter part in the either India or the UK, then I’ll get back to you on this whole national debate thing!
Oh, and as for track records, yours and that of many others show that you have a deep seated hate for Qataris and would love nothing more than to have a public lynching for every Qatari you suspect of being guilty of a crime, especially if the victim is “White”!
Once again your tactic of painting your opponents’ comments as sensational fall short. Ngourlay is making no such calls or claims.
I would say ngourlay’s response has been much tamer than that of many Qataris to the murder of the young man in Hastings a few years ago.
The ”one-fourth of Qatari men are as bad toward women as their counter part in either India or the UK” is,as a matter of fact,debatable,to put it nicely. 🙂 This issue depends on your definition of ”bad towards women”.
For example, a woman does not require an exit permit from her spouse to travel abroad in both the countries you mentioned along with pretty much every country in the world where women may travel,drive,do whatever they choose to do without requiring a man,any man to first approve it. Not granting a woman the right to make a choice is to me VERY bad towards women!
But that may not be how you see it,so best not to debate that. Rates of crimes against women in the countries you mentioned are higher than they are here (despite the fact that a LOT of it is unreported here) but that is not to be confused with a woman’s rights which in the two countries you mentioned are FAR ahead of this country/region. So as I said,it depends on your definition of ”bad”.
You are correct.
Please allow me to clarify; I wrote the 1/4 point as a very “quick & dirty” reply to his trying to compare this case to the high profile rape case that happened in India about a year ago where a female medical student was raped in a bus in broad daylight by 4-5 men. She committed suicide later on because the men were initially found to be not guilty. This is what led to a national debate in India regarding rape. For Mr. Gourlay to compare this case here to the one in India, is a very gross and misleading comparison. That’s like comparing the gun violence rate here to that of the U.S.
It goes without saying that the UK isn’t India or Qatar. From a civil and legal stand point, only a fool would argue that women have more rights in Qatar than they do in the UK. Be it requiring permission to travel, marry, etc. Qatari women lack a number of rights that are enjoyed by their UK counterparts.
However, within the context of this case, I was simply addressing the claim Mr. Gourlay was trying to make which is that among Qatari males, abuse, rape and murder of their girlfriends, lovers, mistresses, one night stands or whatever the term maybe, is, in my humble view, is as wide spread as rape is in India.
Last but not least, I don’t care what the nationality or last name of the vile person/s responsible for the demise of this young lady are, I hope they are publicly executed and that an example is made of them for all to witness. I feel safe in telling you that I believe I speak for most Qataris would also want the same.
Not executed!
Perhaps let out of a long prison sentence, a couple of times a year, to lecture young men on why it is a bad idea to rape/kill?
Execution is a cop-out?
Why does everything go back to the second Gulf War with you? So, in this instance, you are saying what? A former British Prime Minister and American President did something very bad, and for that any sort of logic or reasoning by the members of those two nations (nearly half a billion people) is suspect? The only reason you know that what they did was criminal is because of the Western media. It wasn’t as if the Gulf Time was breaking the news on this, and Al Jazeera, in its infancy at the time, was just as unreliable (much, much better nowadays imo).
So I would say this ‘fill-in-the-gaps’ approach is exactly what is needed. If leads to incorrect assumptions, then let someone in the know correct them.
It is bit too easy to link this story to WMD. I could easily link it ti arabs killing each other in Syria.
Wasn’t linking it to WMDs, but your than welcome to jump to conclusions, as usual!
Yep, what happened in Hastings did not represent all the English, but remember some of the outrageous reactions by some Qataris? After reading and listening to all of that, and watching so many sensible Qataris remain silent, I won’t shed a tear for any Qatari that gets upset if their is a backlash in the media.
There is a certain push & pull that goes on between media & police departments everywhere in the world. Media races to get everything out, have something to write about, and beat others to the punch. Police strive to keep some things confidential so that the investigation of the case isn’t harmed, not to mention that they want to make sure early assumptions that prove to be unfounded are not released to cloud the working of the case. In my opinion, DN has done the right thing here, and if British papers can’t provide proof of what they’re writing, perhaps they need to review their professional ethics.
The silence of the authorities speaks volumes about the nationality of those arrested. Had they been Indian, Nepalese, North African, etc. etc., it would have been authoritatively stated by now. That other newspapers are reporting she was last seen with Qatari men (and the local press is not reporting this) also speaks volumes about the self censorship.
Of course, I freely admit I could be wrong in my assumptions. But the fact that I have these assumptions along with so many others on social media (rightly or wrongly) suggests that the police and government in Qatar have a very real public image/relations problem regarding inequality in the judicial system that needs to be fixed.
Just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, 52% of Americans polled said they believed Saddam had something to do with 9/11! Just because many people share a belief, doesn’t mean they’re right!
Let me ask you this though; do you believe the punishment should be different depending on nationality? If not, then what difference does it make on how soon the authorities announce the nationality of the culprit?
We all should come together and demand that those responsible for the demise of this wonderful young lady should be held accountable regardless of their nationality or last name.
I think what David is getting at is the inconsistencies with how Police handle things. You can simply look at the MOI security information and often see photographs of accused along with ethnicities. When you read this statement it is lacking this consistency. Im not saying it is a wise thing to do as I have been falsely accused of a crime in Qatar, but this is what happens in Qatar.
‘Just because many people share a belief, doesn’t mean they’re right!’
So right Abdulrahman, so right, and in so many situations and often in surprisingly large numbers too…. 😉
As I stated in my post, I’m not saying these perceptions are right; they could be entirely wrong. What I am saying is that they exist, they are prevalent, and the authorities should do something to address them. The handling of the Vilagio fire among other incidents did much to create this perception. If it’s perception problem, then a a good PR campaign would do the trick. My sense is that there is more to it than that, but I would be delighted to be proven wrong. Regardless, public opinion matters.
With regard to why the authorities should announce the nationality of the culprits: it’s a matter of consistency. Typically they seem to announce them, except when it is a national, which adds to the widespread perception that justice is different depending on nationality.
I agree with your last point. Regardless of nationality, these people should be punished. If they are Qataris, then I hope the authorities handle it better than the Villagio fire incident–for the sake of her family, people living in Qatar, and Qatar’s world image.
“Just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, 52% of Americans polled said they believed Saddam had something to do with 9/11! Just because many people share a belief, doesn’t mean they’re right!”
Exactly my point. It shows how powerful perception can be (even when rooted in false assumptions), and why the MoI and others need to take perception more seriously.
Law should be the same for all, so it does not matter the nationality if law is applied to all in the same way. I have concerns about it!
Fully agree with your statement; the way this story gets covered shows who is involved.
You know I understand people want more details of this case. But in the midst of an investigation it is not always wise to make details public. Even in the states investigators do not tell the public the all the details of a case.
Having said all that. I think single women need to be extra cautions when going out. Especially at night.
“The police has arrested the suspects of an European woman’s murder. The case has been referred to Public Prosecution to complete further judicial procedures applicable in this regard.”
http://www.moi.gov.qa/site/english/news/2013/10/16/30434.html
What I find to be really sad here is all the people who seem to be more upset at the fact that the MoI isn’t forthcoming with information because the culprit is, allegedly, a Qatari, rather than being upset about the tragedy of what has happened to this young lady who still had a lot to live for.
I think people are upset primarily by the incident. That the MoI might be withholding the name because the culprits are Qatari plays on the widespread expat concerns that 1) there is a separate and unequal judicial process for Qataris 2) Qataris are inadequately punished for the crimes they commit vs. expats. Whether root in fact or note, this creates a widespread uneasiness in the expat community. This is the legacy of the Villagio fire.
David makes a good point. Whereas the accused in Villagio could just leave the country and not just turn up once but three times to the trial reflects very badly on Qatar. Now one of the potential accused has flown to Saudi leads many to believe another mockery of a trial will take place. I hope I am wrong
So, if I were to look for and find similar cases in the U.S., U.K etc., will those cases have also have reflected badly on those said countries? How many murders in the fore mentioned countries go unsolved every year? How often does the police in those countries treat suspects differently due to race, religion, or wealth? How often do juries there let guilty people go free because of things like race, religion, etc.?
Had the U.S. won the right to host the world cup instead of Qatar, would anyone have said that until the U.S. closes Gitmo and afford everyone there due process, it cannot be allowed to host the world cup?
Actually quite a few people would have questioned the U.S.’s record on human rights; in fact, people do all the time, and most of the ammunition you use comes from American reporters and newspapers. The main difference between Qataris and Americans in this regard is that some of America’s harshest critics are its own citizens (another benefit of a free, albeit flawed, society.
All crimes reflect badly on all countries, and no country is crime free. In reference to UK, I think it is reasonably fair to say that, procedurally, all do get the same treatment. The UK police were quite happy to prosecute the Queen’s daughter for speeding, on more than one occasion – wouldn’t that be cool if it happened in Qatar? Indeed beyond procedure, those who were once admired / held as celebrity not only find themselves prosecuted, but they also receive far more media coverage than Joe Public would in the same situation. No one gets to hides behind anonymity. The US is maybe another story?
Let’s imagine that the WC hosting rights selection was clean beyond reproach – I did say ‘imagine’ – maybe the fact that the US did not get the rights was in some way due to their unpopular reputation around the world?
If you believe that Qataris commit crimes and get away with it then Qatar would not be as safe as it is now, crimes like this happen a lot more in the UK and US and they don’t get solve over night. Abdulrahman your so right .
Yes Aisha, it is interesting when we think about it; if indeed most or many Qataris are simply above the law, then it would stand to reason that every day or every week at least, a Qatari would be committing murder, rape, armed robbery, etc. That not being the case, the only other explanation is that most Qatari are such outstanding people that we don’t commit these crimes, even though we don’t have to fear the consequences!
Totally agree with you Abdulrahmen, many Qataris are very content with their life and feel little need to commit such crimes. I think the most common crime committed in Qatar is the breaking of the labour law and many Qataris would be involved in this and facilitated by expats turning a blind eye to the injustices. I think rape is under reported with many choosing not to persue the perpetrator, especially because of the perception of the justice system. I personally know of one such case.
I would love to know what the consequences were for the Qatar Foundation for incorrectly terminating Dorje effectively leading to all his other problems.
I would love to know the consequences for the people involved in negligent homicide in the Villagio case and why they have never been locked away in jail and are free to travel.
I would love to know what were the consequences for the Qatari father who defamed me and claimed I raped his daughter.
While I’m at it I would even love to know what was the finding from the Asian Cup final ticket lockout because Im pretty sure the official statement from Jassim al-Rumaihi, the QLOC spokesperson, was a blatant lie “For me, all the time we told the spectators to come earlier. Yesterday, we were supposed to close the gate because of security reasons around 5.30pm, we continued to open the gate until around 6.05pm. People were coming with and without tickets, most of them without tickets, a couple of thousand, which was causing a problem.
When will it become acceptable for a Qatari to loose face and accept mistakes and face some sort of consequence?
I know you love your country, I not saying that this happens all the time but it is well known that Nationality can influence many aspects of life in Qatar.
Let me be facetious – just for one moment, I promise not to make a habit of it!
Would the execution of a crime involve:
1) Getting out of one’s car
2) Putting down one’s Galaxy / iphone / bberry(s) for a few minutes
3) Finding a little brown man to do the hard work
Now ‘not” facetious
Crime is “criminal” hard work, but there are always those willing to put in the extra effort?
All the same arguments in support of ‘whiter than white’ nationals were being presented in KSA a couple of decades ago. Take a look at crime bust reports in Arab News now, and read very carefully between the lines. Sometimes they will even be quite open.
Being frank and honest about the problems will benefit the future.
if thats what you all think let me clear it up for you…
I know several things that happened between families, [original Qatari families] that ended up with someone murdering someone.. and the person that committed the crime is and has been in jail for the past 5 years and has 10-20 years left until the son of the deceased grows up to be of an age to decide whether they execute/free/ or let the person spend more time in Jail.
Its true that these stories don’t come up in the news but they do handle it in a religious and cultural manner discreetly.
so if you think they can stand up dust their hands and walk away freely you are completely wrong.
It would serve the GCC well if they enacted a criminal cooperation agreement to keep those accused of crimes from escaping the legal process by fleeing to another GCC country. It seems to me that is a loophole in the system that allows Khaleejis automatic entrance & residence in GCC countries.
*everyone that is believed to be holding responsibility of the fire in villagio are doing time.
Really? I believe they were convicted and given jail sentences but not one day has been served. They are now free and have launched an appeal. Compare that to the American couple who have yet to be convicted of any crime but have been in jail for months now.
Double standards?
actually they are spending time in Doha, and the government gave them the harshest sentence for a case this big. I don’t know how these rumors spread… a family friend was involved and she’s spending time here.
I’m sure you are correct!
Who am/are I/we to argue with the diary of the Qatar Embassy in Belgium, which appears to contradict your assertion?
They’re doing time all right,just doing it in a big townhouse in a fancy suburb somewhere in Brussels.
May Lauren rest in peace. I hope the guilty parties are found and punished swiftly.
Does Local guy leave the club & drive to wherever he is going with Taxi?
I must say that the coverage of this tragedy is clumsy to say at least
well tragedys like this takes time to solve also they have to investigate to give out the right information not like found in la cigale dumpster
rumors and speculation everywhere, the only important thing is this guy is caught and brought to justice. if he is qatari (which seems likely at this point) then frankly as a qatari i think we should be harsher than if he was from another nationality cus i don’t want murderers and rapists in my society
we all don’t but you cant deny all the things that are happening around that are tempting men to do these things. Not everyone is as strong-willed as we’d think to believe they are… we should be strict on both sides, locals and expats, if they weren’t out drinking and wearing revealing clothes the probability of anything happening to them is very low and the probability of men doing something to them is also low. However when everything seems to be at “an arms reach” to them especially for the weak they use this as an opportunity to strike. [NOT TALKING ABOUT A SPECIFIC RACE OR ETHNICITY BUT MEN IN GENERAL]
You make men sound pathetic. We do not need will power to stop us from raping and murdering women. Lets not try to validate why this shocking crime was committed.
So men are animals & can’t control themselves & women have to think for the both of them? Even if she’s walking around naked, that doesn’t give anyone the right to rape her. The hypocrisy we see her is sickening, but this is not the place to write more about it. This is about the poor woman & her family
you are 100% right but then again we are living in an islamic country and people should respect the dress codes, and these dress codes were given not to just to irritate people but to protect them and let them respect the culture. and if you see it as hypocrisy is demeaning to women, I just gave a suggestion to protect them whereas you empower them to have things like this happen to them.
I dont think you can start a sentence with “you are 100% right” and then follow it with a “but”.
It’s the same as saying “its not ok to rape but…”
It is this type of mind set which leads to such cases.
Astonishing! I can visit any establishment, anywhere in the world, where there are female human beings, with revealing clothes, and yet not feel the slightest temptation to rape them!
Maybe you are absolutely correct, and I am totally misguided?
Don’t hold your breath!
Aaaahh I see, she was asking for it. Idiotic comment.
I’m not talking about her we don’t know what really happened (RIP) but for previous cases and the future bunch…
well, i guess based on previous idiotic comments, I shouldn’t be surprised, but it seems even you can plumb new depths….only someone from such a sexually repressed, segregated society could make the comments you have….you clearly have no idea about how most of the integrated world live….remember, this structure of living here, with all its bronze age rules and male-dominated control freakery, is in the minority globally….people elsewhere, in the majority world, are more enlightened to the point where, believe it or not, women can wear clothes without immediately making themselves targets for uncontrollable, lascivious men. Which century will that sink in here? Explains a lot about the huge secret ‘haram-whatever!’ homosexual sub-culture here though….
Sad for this girl and her family.And when Dorje Gerung was held for 12 days in jail, based on accusations of a student that was bullying him, his name was all over the place.Why?
I think its fair to say his name was all over the place because;
1) the leadership within Qatar Academy was not strong enough to stand up for one of its employees
2) poor/lack of investigation by the police into the claims
3) his nationality
If we hadn’t put a name and a face out to the world I think Dorje Gerung would still be in jail. Its a shame that nationality seems to play a great role in the judicial system. For Dorje it was amplified from both ends. Not only was the accused from the bottom tier but the accuser was from the top, with age/reliabilty of the witnesses being totally disregarded by Qatar Academy and the police.
I wonder if Qatar Academy and police would be noble enough to admit that they made mistakes and owe this poor guy a massive apology…. or do they think that now he is out of the country the problem has healed itself?
amen!
No, we don’t forget.I was being a bit facetious in throwing this one out there,but it defines what people have become accustomed to.Not to mention expats who have leadership roles who turn blind eyes because they fear they may be the next to be put on the carpet.It is not just Qataris who can influence decisions, the finger can be pointed to those who should know better,but turn the blind eye.
please stay in topic what has Dorje got to do with the missing girl?
I think it is mainly to do with the lack of information on the accused. I think Diego was simply making a comparison that much information was presented on Dorje but little information is coming forward in this case.
I think the expat community are concerned with consistency from the media and officials, which is relevant to this doha news piece.
I’m sure the expat community in the school could have stood up for him if anything was out of order, but seeming that they didnt, there should be a relevant explanation behind this… anyway if thats what he meant then I understand where its coming from now.
I think you will find that the teaching staff were given a directive from upper school management. Going against this directive could have lead to a reason for dismissal. I think you will find Dorje had much support from the teaching staff.
I’d like to see an awareness campaign targeting single young women to become more aware of their surroundings & have a trusted buddy system if they are going to go out drinking. I do think a lot of young Western women are bowled over by the display of wealth & “exoticism” of Khaleeji men, and they set aside the street smarts they might have back in their own country.
An “awareness” campaign about respect towards women, regardless of nationality, is in order as well. I’m all for being careful, but let’s not suggest that this is Lauren’s fault. As the details unfold, we will likely see that this the murderer was acquainted with her. She was probably murdered by someone she trusted, as is the case with most violence towards women.
Body of UK teacher was found in the desert
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3895226.ece
I’m extremely disappointed in Doha News for the way they have covered this. Why is it that I have to go to the British press for updates on this story? Now even the London Times is reporting unequivocally the names and circumstances of the case. I might as well read the Gulf Times and it’s breaking news on the latest Ooreedo deal or the headline story for how Qatar Airways has won an award for the best hot towels in amongst ME carriers.
If the accused was any other nationality, the details would have appeared long ago.
I think you are being a little harsh on Doha news, its pretty clear that they will report what they see for themselves as verifiable truths. British media are happy to keep shooting till they hit the mark. They are in a tough environment where official statements on these sort of cases are very few and far between. I think they have been very restrained on not reporting here say. What they have done is let you come to your own conclusions without pressing what they think you should come to. I think they have been successful.
If I remember correctly all the initial british reports were pretty much the doha news article before they started adding to it. They would not have had a story if it wasn’t for Doha news.
Agreed!
Much as people want answers, berating DN is not going to motivate the authorities to provide them any quicker. Hohum makes a valid point that the UK media appears to be using DN as a source for information. Most information, above official releases, does appear to be hearsay.
It’s an emotive tragedy, we would all appreciate more information, but shotgun accusations will not provide such information.
Thanks for the robust discussion, all. Closing this thread now.