Ministry seeks to calm Qataris following news report on UAE detentions

GCC

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has sought to reassure its citizens of their safety after a local newspaper here published a report claiming three Qataris had been detained and tortured in the UAE.

On Sunday, Al Arab reported:

“Abu Dhabi inhumanely arrested three Qatar citizens who were traveling to the UAE for tourism and to visit their relatives. There is information that the three citizens are currently being tortured in prison.”

The report caused a swift reaction on Twitter, with people taking to social media to ask for more information about the issue.

Though it would not confirm whether any Qataris had been recently detained while visiting the UAE, the foreign affairs ministry published a brief update on its website yesterday.

It stated that the Consul General of Qatar had met with the Dubai Police Commander in Chief this week to discuss “bilateral ties and ways of developing them in all fields.”

Twitter response

MOFA also sought to calm down agitated tweeters last night, posting:

Translation: “The State has never abandoned its people. It is taking all the necessary action through legal and diplomatic channels.”

Unhappy with the ambiguity of this message, one tweeter responded:

Translation: “You are falling short on explaining exactly what happens to Qataris in the Emirates. You are not taking your role seriously before the Qatari people. This is the third case.”

Others were more appreciative:

https://twitter.com/Hailaalabdulrah/statuses/485739341373661184

Translation: “This is what we expect from you, our government. We have all the trust in our rulers and their efforts. May God protect our children and Qatar.”

MOFA also said:

Translation: “The efforts exerted by MOFA are not disclosed until they are finalized.”

Translation: “We hope that they (MOFA’s efforts) are announced so that the Qatari people can be reassured.”

For its part, Al Arab urged Qatari citizens to avoid traveling or transiting through the UAE “because of the danger of arrest and detention that this poses.”

That advice prompted some ridicule on Twitter:

Translation: “Who is this Al-Arab newspaper to warn citizens not to travel to the Emirates? Is it now the spokesman for the ministry?”

Relations

The relationship between Qatar and the UAE have hit many bumps over the past year.

This in part due to the detention and conviction of Dr. Mahmood Abdulrehman Al Jaidah, who in March was sentenced to seven years in a UAE jail for “financially and morally supporting” members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a charge he denied.

Emirati authorities first detained Al Jaidah in February 2013 as he was making a transit stop at the Dubai International Airport en route to Doha from Bangkok. Human rights groups condemned the doctor’s treatment, saying he was denied due process and tortured in prison.

Dahi Khalfan

Qatar and the UAE also do not appear to see eye-to-eye on the political situation in Egypt, which analysts cite as the reason the UAE has not returned its ambassador to Qatar after recalling him in March.

Though tensions were thought to have been smoothed over, in April, a senior Emirati security official drew scorn after tweeting that Qatar should be the UAE’s eighth emirate.

That Qatar will not formally confirm whether any new nationals have been jailed in the UAE suggests the matter is being handled through diplomatic channels before tension gets any higher.

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