GENEVA: Members of a prominent tribe told an audience in Geneva on Thursday how they were stripped of their nationality and suffered torture, forced displacement and deportation in a 22-year campaign of systematic persecution by authorities in Qatar.
“My story is about wanting my rights, and I hope my story reaches your hearts,” said Hamed Al-Ghufrani, whose family was forced to flee Qatar for the UAE in 1996.
Another member of the tribe twice lost his job at Qatar Petroleum, in 1999 and 2003, simply because he was a member of the Al-Ghufran tribe, and had his nationality revoked in 2005.
His 14-year-old son spoke of being a “stateless person” and called on the UN to end the persecution so he could return to Qatar.
The press conference at the Swiss Press Club, organized by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, came two days after the Al-Ghufran delegation staged a protest in front of the UN building in Geneva during the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The tribe’s ordeal began in 1996, when some of their members voiced support for Sheikh Khalifa Al-Thani, the Qatari emir deposed the previous year by his son Hamad, father of the current emir, Sheikh Tamim.
About 800 Al-Ghufran families, more than 6,000 people, were stripped of their citizenship and had their property confiscated. Many remain stateless, both in Qatar and in neighboring Gulf countries.
“They have taken away our social, political and economic rights,” said
Jabir bin Saleh Al-Ghufrani, a tribal elder. “The Al-Ghufran tribe has been subjected to unjust treatment.
“I left on a vacation in 1996, and now I can never go back to my country. I can go to any place on this earth, but not my home, not Qatar.”
Members of the delegation produced passports, certificates and other documents to show that their right to Qatari citizenship was being denied.
“I ask for my rights. Our people have been asking for our rights for a very long time now and no one has even explained to us why this is happening to us,” said Hamad Khaled Al-Araq.
Jaber Hamad Al-Araq, the tribe member fired twice by Qatar Petroleum, said: “The consequences of revoking our citizenship came in waves. They took away health care, education and public services. They took away all the tools that would allow us to live in Qatar with dignity, as human beings.”
Many of the tribe have suffered from depression and other medical conditions as a result of their ill-treatment. “I was rejected many times for jobs because of the injustice we face,” said Jaber Mohamed Al-Ghufrani. “They would reject me, the interior ministry office would reject me, just for being from the tribe. We are marginalized, without value, and left on the sidelines in our own country.
“I am responsible for my family, consisting of my wife and children, and we have faced many injustices that led us to have psychological trauma. We have suffered enough.”
Abdul Hadi Jaber Al-Ghufrani, another member of the tribe, told the press conference: “All members of the Al-Ghufran tribe without exception suffered from the decision to revoke their nationality.
“Those who remained in Qatar are unable to work, travel, or act like normal human beings, they cannot trade, they cannot even give their identity.
“Those who were expelled and forcibly displaced live in exile. They cannot apply or work in any job where they can get money for they basic needs, and most of them have no official identity papers. They can no longer see their families and loved ones.
“We are here to demand our rights and we will not stop until we get our rights. From today for the next 20 years, we will not stop.”
The youngest member of the delegation, Mohammed Ali Amer Al-Ghufrani Al-Marri, 14, said: “My nationality was revoked when I was less than one year old.
“I did not have the right to grow up in my own country, I was not given the right to stay there. I wish to return to my country and enjoy my rights as a citizen.”
Tortured, persecuted, deported: a tribe’s ordeal at the hands of Qatar
Tortured, persecuted, deported: a tribe’s ordeal at the hands of Qatar
- The tribe’s ordeal began in 1996, when some of their members voiced support for Sheikh Khalifa Al-Thani
- Another member of the tribe twice lost his job at Qatar Petroleum, in 1999 and 2003, simply because he was a member of the Al-Ghufran tribe
Gaza baby rescued from dead mother’s womb dies
- Doctors were able to save the baby, delivering her by Caesarean section
- The baby suffered respiratory problems and a weak immune system, said Doctor Mohammad Salama who had been caring for Sabreen Al-Rouh
RAFAH, Gaza Strip: A baby girl who was delivered from her dying mother’s womb in a Gaza hospital following an Israeli airstrike has herself died after just a few days of life, the doctor who was caring for her said on Friday.
The baby had been named Sabreen Al-Rouh. The second name means “soul” in Arabic.
Her mother, Sabreen Al-Sakani (al-Sheikh), was seriously injured when the Israeli strike hit the family home in Rafah, the southernmost city in the besieged Gaza Strip, on Saturday night.
Her husband Shukri and their three-year-old daughter Malak were killed.
Sabreen Al-Rouh, who was 30-weeks pregnant, was rushed to the Emirati hospital in Rafah. She died of her wounds, but doctors were able to save the baby, delivering her by Caesarean section.
However, the baby suffered respiratory problems and a weak immune system, said Doctor Mohammad Salama, head of the emergency neo-natal unit at Emirati Hospital, who had been caring for Sabreen Al-Rouh.
She died on Thursday and her tiny body was buried in a sandy graveyard in Rafah.
“I and other doctors tried to save her, but she died. For me personally, it was a very difficult and painful day,” he told Reuters by phone.
“She was born while her respiratory system wasn’t mature, and her immune system was very weak and that is what led to her death. She joined her family as a martyr,” Salama said.
More than 34,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, have been killed in the six-month-old war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians in its campaign to eradicate Hamas.
Much of Gaza has been laid to waste by Israeli bombardments and most of the enclave’s hospitals have been badly damaged, while those still operating are short of electricity, medicine sterilization equipment and other supplies.
“(Sabreen Al-Rouh’s) grandmother urged me and the doctors to take care of her because she would be someone that would keep the memory of her mother, father and sister alive, but it was God’s will that she died,” Salama said.
Her uncle, Rami Al-Sheikh Jouda, sat by her grave on Friday lamenting the loss of the infant and the others in the family.
He said he had visited the hospital every day to check on Sabreen Al-Rouh’s health. Doctors told him she had a respiratory problem but he did not think it was bad until he got a call from the hospital telling him the baby had died.
“Rouh is gone, my brother, his wife and daughter are gone, his brother-in-law and the house that used to bring us together are gone,” he told Reuters.
“We are left with no memories of my brother, his daughter, or his wife. Everything was gone, even their pictures, their mobile phones, we couldn’t find them,” the uncle said.
UN denounces ‘more serious’ Iran crackdown on women without veils
- Hundreds of businesses including restaurants and cafes have been shut down for not enforcing the hijab rule
- More women began refusing the veil in the wake of the 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini
GENEVA: The United Nations said Friday that it was concerned by reports of new efforts to track and punish Iranian women, some as young as 15, who refuse to wear the headscarf required under the country’s Islamic law.
The UN Human Rights Office also expressed alarm about a draft bill on “Supporting the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab,” which would impose tougher sentences on women appearing in public without the hijab.
“What we have seen, what we’re hearing is, in the past months, that the authorities, whether they be plainclothes police or policemen in uniform, are increasingly enforcing the hijab bill,” Jeremy Laurence, a spokesman for the office, said at a press conference.
“There have been reports of widespread arrests and harassment of women and girls — many between the ages of 15 and 17,” he said.
Iranian police announced in mid-April reinforced checks on hijab use, saying the law was increasingly being flouted.
Hundreds of businesses including restaurants and cafes have been shut down for not enforcing the hijab rule, and surveillance cameras are being used to identify women without it, Laurence said.
More women began refusing the veil in the wake of the 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Iran’s morality police for allegedly breaking the headscarf law, which sparked a wave of deadly protests against the government.
Laurence said that on April 21, “the Tehran head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the creation of a new body to enforce existing mandatory hijab laws, adding that guard members have been trained to do so ‘in a more serious manner’ in public spaces.”
And while the latest draft of the new hijab bill has not been released, “an earlier version stipulates that those found guilty of violating the mandatory dress code could face up to 10 years’ imprisonment, flogging, and fines,” he said, adding that “this bill must be shelved.”
The Human Rights Office also called for the release of a rapper sentenced to death for supporting nationwide protests sparked by Amini’s death.
Toomaj Salehi, 33, was arrested in October 2022 for publicly backing the uprising.
“All individuals imprisoned for exercising their freedom of opinion and expression, including artistic expression, must be released,” Laurence said.
UN seeks to deescalate Sudan tensions amid reports of possible attack
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ envoy is engaging with all parties to deescalate tensions
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations is increasingly concerned about escalating tensions in Al-Fashir in Sudan’s North Dafur region amid reports that the Rapid Support Forces are encircling the city, signaling a possible imminent attack, the UN’s spokesperson said on Friday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ envoy is engaging with all parties to deescalate tensions in the area, the spokesperson said.
Israeli army says missile fire kills civilian near Lebanon
- The violence has fueled fears of all-out conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel
- “Overnight, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles toward the area of Har Dov in northern Israel,” the Israeli army said
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Friday a civilian was killed near the country’s northern border with Lebanon, as near-daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah rage.
Both sides have stepped up attacks this week, with Hezbollah increasing rocket fire and Israel saying it had carried out “offensive action” across southern Lebanon.
The violence has fueled fears of all-out conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, which last went to war in 2006.
“Overnight, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles toward the area of Har Dov in northern Israel,” the Israeli army said, referring to the disputed Shebaa Farms district.
“As a result, an Israeli civilian doing infrastructure work was injured and he was later pronounced dead.”
Israeli media reported that the victim was an Arab-Israeli truck driver. Police told AFP they had not identified the body, but said it was the only one found after a truck was hit.
Hezbollah said it had destroyed two Israeli vehicles in the Kfarshuba hills overnight in a “complex ambush” on a convoy using missiles and artillery.
The Israeli army did not comment directly on the claim.
It said Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets around Shebaa village in southern Lebanon including a weapons store and a launcher, while soldiers “fired to remove a threat in the area.”
It said fighter jets also “struck Hezbollah operational infrastructure in the area of Kfarshuba and a military compound in the area of Ain El Tineh in southern Lebanon.”
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that Shebaa village, Kfarshuba and Helta were targeted by “more than 150 Israeli shells,” leaving homes damaged.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been trading almost-daily fire with the Israeli army since the day after its Palestinian ally Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.
Since October 8 at least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 252 Hezbollah fighters and dozens of civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel says 11 soldiers and nine civilians have been killed on its side of the border.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides.
EU commits $73 million more for Gaza aid
- New EU aid would be focused on food deliveries, clean water, sanitation and shelters
- The EU and United States have demanded that Israel allows more aid into Gaza
BRUSSELS: The European Union on Friday said it was giving an extra 68 million euros ($73 million) to provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The territory has been devastated by more than six months of Israeli bombardment and ground operations after Hamas’s October 7 attack, leaving the civilian population of two million people in need of humanitarian assistance to survive.
“In light of the continued deterioration of the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the steady rise of needs on the ground, the (European) Commission is stepping up its funding to support Palestinians affected by the ongoing war,” an EU statement said.
“This support brings total EU humanitarian assistance to 193 million euros for Palestinians in need inside Gaza and across the region in 2024.”
The EU said the new aid would be focused on food deliveries, clean water, sanitation and shelters, and would be channelled through local partners on the ground.
The United Nations has said Israel’s operation has turned Gaza into a “humanitarian hellscape,” amid fears of a looming famine.
The EU and United States have demanded that Israel allows more aid into Gaza.
The US military said on Thursday it had begun construction of a pier meant to boost deliveries to the territory.
The war in Gaza began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, with a retaliatory offensive that has killed at least 34,356 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
