Qatar released Kenyan man on charges of “spreading misinformation” Qatar News
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Doha, Qatar – A Kenyan citizen who was arrested in Qatar last month accused of “spreading misinformation”, have been released, according to rights organizations and their employers.
Malcolm Send 28-year-old, who works as a security guard for GSS Certis in the capital Doha, was arrested on May 5 from that accommodation and “investigated for violating Qatar’s security laws and regulations,” the Qatar Government Communications Office (GCO) said last month.
On May 30, the GCO said Send “was formally charged with a foreign agent for misinformation within the State of Qatar and for crimes related to payments received for distributing misinformation.”
Salem al-Mohannadi, owner of GSS Certis, has confirmed to Al Jazeera that the 28-year-old has been released.
“Yes, they have released him but I have no further details,” al-Mohannadi told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
“It’s the case of the government now. We are completely behind our country and it is difficult to understand who is working against the country. “
Rights groups they have expressed concern that the arrest may be in retaliation for human rights work.
On the blog with the nickname Noah, Send wrote about labor rights issues, including long working hours, issues of wages, working conditions and inadequate accommodation and workplace.
Earlier, Migrant-Rights.Org, when Bidali was blogging about his life as a migrant worker in Qatar, confirmed that Bidali had been “released from custody, but charged against him”.
The Qatari government declined to comment on Al Jazeera.
Malcolm Send (@noaharticulates) has been released from prison, but charges against him remain.
Until his release this week, he received no legal advice.
The accusations against him are simply aimed at silencing him and all accusations of his activism must be dropped. pic.twitter.com/GxbOcJS3qJ– Migrant rights (@MigrantRights) June 2, 2021
Earlier, Bidali said he was “receiving legal advice and representation before a court yet to be determined.”
In a tweet, Migrant-Rights.Org claimed that “he did not receive any legal advice until his release earlier this week.”
Last month, rights groups, including Amnesty International, said in a statement that Send to his mother on May 20 in a phone call told him he was incommunicado and had no access to a lawyer.
The International Labor Organization (ILO )’s Doha office said the case is being followed “closely”.
“The office is not in a position to give an opinion on the allegations, but it is essential that Mr Send be received due process,” the ILO said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera last month.
“The Confederation of International Trade Unions has offered to provide support to Mr. Send’s independent legal representation, and the ILO office will continue to monitor developments.”
A few days before his arrest, Bidali traveled to Qatar in 2016 to give an online presentation to civil society groups on the situation of migrant workers in Qatar, giving them experience working as security guards there.
A suspicious link was also sent to him via a tweet, and some experts said it was a phishing attack to track Send. Your Twitter account is disabled.
It is likely that the information received by clicking on the link was eventually used by the Government of Qatar to anonymize and arrest them. After May 25, 2021, Twitter suspended accounts that were involved in the IP registration campaign, among other things @MukhbatQatar.
– Bill Marczak (@billmarczak) May 28, 2021
A spokesman for Migrant-Rights.Org told Al Jazeera last month that the organization was linked to Bidali last year and “was keen to help other workers with the crisis, especially in the pandemic.”
In a Twitter message, the organization said: “It is essential to emphasize that none of the posts and initiatives on the @Noaharticulates blog can be described as ‘misinformation.’
Malcolm Post an update on labor rights activist:
Malcolm is no longer under arrest, but apparently the faces made allegations #Katar related to his legal activism. All charges arising from human rights work must be suspended.
– amnestypress (@amnestypress) June 2, 2021
Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers and its human rights record have been on display since it was awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
However, the country has undergone a number of labor reforms to address the mega-event that will take place in November and December next year.
August 2020, Qatar has announced milestone changes labor law, including the cancellation of the need for a certificate without any impediment. Earlier this year, a new minimum wage law was also enacted.
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