‘Working in Qatar is akin to working in a black site operated by the Central Intelligence Agency’.
NEW DELHI: On Friday, the eight Indian navy veterans completed their seven months in detention of the Qatar government. While Indian officials in Qatar and Delhi maintain that the eight will be back to India after the “due legal process” in the case is completed, this recent incident has not gone down well with members of other countries, working in Qatar, especially those who work in private corporations.
The secrecy that the Qatar government has exercised in this entire saga, a tenure that has been characterized by neither the family members of the captive Indians, nor the Indian embassy being formally informed of the reasons for which the Qatar intelligence agency decided to arrest them on the night of 30 August, has led to concern among MNCs on how “safe” it was to work in Qatar, which despite marketing itself as a rival to the neighbouring United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to attract investment, still acts like a “feudal entity” when it comes to conducting global relations and handling bilateral legal issues.
According to a senior employee with a MNC that is into Information Technology and Consulting and is counted among the top three in its field, there was a lot of worry among their employees as far as Qatar is concerned, with many of its present employees seeking to move out and requesting new postings.
The fear, according to him, has a lot to do with the way Qatar, which counts India as among its close partners, has behaved in the present case in which the eight Indians, who were working with the Dahra Global, a Doha-based company, have been kept in solitary confinement without any charge. He called working in Qatar is akin to working in a “black site” operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The said sentiment, of gradually moving away from Qatar or/and reducing its presence there, was common among other companies that work in the said field, the employee said.
In an example of how secretly things move in Doha, the law firm that is representing the Indians till now—”Office of Majid Al Hajri”—refused to share any details of the case with The Sunday Guardian when the newspaper called their office in Doha. The lead lawyer of the firm Majid blocked the number of this reporter upon receiving messages and calls rather than answer to the simple question of when the next hearing of the case is and under what charges the Indians were being held. The same evasive strategy was used by two other employees of the law firm whom The Sunday Guardian approached. In other countries, the lawyers who represent the alleged criminals go out of their way to speak to the media about their clients’ “innocence”.
The said law firm has, in the past, represented Indian nationals and it was not clear as of now as to who engaged them in the present case, whether the Indian embassy in Doha or the law firm on its own reached out to the detainees and their representatives.
Qatar has no system, unlike in other advanced neighbouring countries, in place that allows the family members to get updated information on the legal case. As a result, the family members are dependent on the Indian embassy to get whatever piecemeal information they get.
The family members of the detained Indian nationals have, apart from reaching out to the ruler of Qatar requesting his intervention in the matter, have refused to speak out against this “information firewall” that they have encountered so far. This has been attributed to the concern for the well-being of their relatives, most of whom are above 50 years of age and suffering from multiple health conditions.
When asked what it was doing in the present case, the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, has on all occasions, has not gone beyond stating that “it was doing what was required of it” while asking the reporters to reach out to Qatar government for further information. Dahra Global, too, refused to comment on The Sunday Guardian’s calls for an update on the matter.
The Indian government has already transferred out the incumbent ambassador and the defence attaché who were there in Doha during the time these Indian nationals were arrested. There is no clarity as to whether they were removed from Doha as some form of “punishment” for not doing enough or they were removed on the orders of the Qatar government.
According to a spokesperson with a well-known job portal, candidates, especially youngsters, are now refusing to explore job opportunities in Doha and as per the conversation the company had with the job seekers, a primary reason for this was the prolonged detention of these eight Indians and the fear that it has generated.