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Source: Washington – Bandar Aldoushi
Pressure is mounting on Doha in the case of Sheikh Talal Al Thani, grandson of the founder of the State of Qatar, after his wife Asmaa called for his release at the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday.
“My husband needs urgent medical attention and a lawyer to choose him freely,” she told the United Nations in Geneva via videotape. “He was arbitrarily sentenced to 22 years in prison while he was held incommunicado and suffers from serious medical conditions in prison.” .
Additionally, Asmaa, who is fighting a fight against the Qatari authorities, explained in an interview with “Fox News” last night that Sheikh Talal is being held in an unknown facility and that his health is deteriorating due to torture and mistreatment in prison.
She also highlighted that “her husband’s case is important not only because of his political situation, but also because the numerous and ongoing violations of our family’s basic human rights in Qatar represent deeply rooted systemic problems with the Qatari government and judicial system. “.
In addition, he said that after Sheikh Talal’s arrest, the Qatari authorities sent her while she was pregnant, with three small children at the time, to “an uninhabitable house in the desert without air conditioners, pests and sewage.” “My children and I became seriously ill there and were denied basic medical care,” he added.
Asmaa also received threatening letters believed to be from the Qatari royal family, and Fox News reviewed them, with the aim of dissuading her from continuing to launch a public campaign to free her husband.
Hanan and her children now live under the protection of security authorities in Germany, and the Qatari Foreign Ministry in Doha and its embassies in Berlin, Brussels and Washington did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the case.
Although the German Foreign Ministry told the US network that it is aware of the case, it did not provide any additional comment.
Malicious lawsuits
The Qatari authorities had imprisoned Sheikh Talal bin Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani in 2013 on charges of non-payment of debts.
His wife and his American lawyer, Marc Somos, who was on the faculty of Harvard Law School, strongly reject the allegations. The lawyer confirms that the mysterious Qatari justice system carried out malicious and politically motivated cases against the sheikh.
Sheikh Talal Al Thani’s wife and children.
Urgent appeals
In context, Somos told Fox News that they have made other urgent appeals to other UN human rights bodies, including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges. , in addition to the Human Rights Council.
He continued: “We call on Qatar to release Sheikh Talal and allow him to reunite with his family in Germany,” adding that “until his release, he must have immediate access to the media with his family, independent medical staff and a lawyer. of their choosing. And their legal team should be allowed access. ” Legal and medical records during his arbitrary detention “.
It should be noted that in 2014 a United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges was appointed to inspect the judiciary in Qatar. The rapporteur noted the existence of some legal deficiencies, including the inappropriate impact on the judiciary.
While it is extremely difficult to document any direct interference with the independence of judges, reports of pressure exerted by the executive branch on the work of the judiciary, particularly in cases involving influential persons, are of concern to the Rapporteur Special.
As Special Rapporteur Gabriela Knoll wrote at the time, “For example, in 2009, 33 Qatari judges were reported to have resigned in protest at what they described as continued interference in their work.
Notably, Talal Al Thani is the son of former Qatari Health Minister Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, and he is also the grandson of former Qatari Emir Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani.
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