Association
HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER REMAINS IN DETENTION
in separate developments, on 5th May 2026, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) expressed its deep concern about the systematic repressive policies pursued by the authorities in Qatar against citizens, including various activists, who peacefully and civilly express their opinions on public affairs in their country, and on the government’s policies and directions that often do not align with the interests of citizens, through social media networks.
A former prisoner who was released and subsequently left Qatar last year confirmed that human rights lawyer Dr. Najeeb Mohammed Al-Nuaimi and two of his assistants were imprisoned.
The former prisoner told GCHR that he was arrested in an ambush by security forces on 26 April 2025 and was not released until 12 July 2025.
He explained that he was held in a prison located within the Internal Security Forces “Lekhwiya” camp in the Al-Duhail area of Doha, a facility for detainees held on terrorism, drug, and cybercrime charges.
He added that in May 2025, two employees of Al-Nuaimi’s law firm, Mohamed Al-Masri and Hamdi Al-Katib, both Egyptian nationals, were detained. A week later, security forces also arrested Dr. Al-Nuaimi himself.
The former prisoner confirmed that he met with them regularly during the times when all the prisoners, numbering approximately 172, were allowed out of their cells to enjoy the sun. He further explained that the prison, which houses both those serving sentences and those awaiting trial, consists of four halls. Three of these halls are open to each other, while the fourth, a closed hall, houses only Qatari citizens and is where Dr. Al-Nuaimi was held.
In closing, the former prisoner, who faced a fabricated case from which he was later acquitted, stated that Dr. Al-Nuaimi remains imprisoned, while his two aides were released in August 2025. He indicated that Dr. Al-Nuaimi is facing a major, alleged criminal case.
GCHR attempted to ascertain the fate of Dr. Najeeb Al-Nuaimi by contacting relevant authorities both inside and outside Qatar, including the Qatari Embassy in London, but all declined to comment. This is consistent with the policy of complete silence adopted by the State Security Apparatus, which includes a total refusal to comment on human rights violations.
Reliable sources informed GCHR that their last telephone contact with Dr. Al-Nuaimi was on 9th April 2025, after which the State Security apparatus confiscated all his electronic devices, including his phone. GCHR also noted the disappearance of the website for his private law firm.
It is worth noting that Dr. Al-Nuaimi, who served as Minister of Justice from 1995 to 1997, has been subject to an arbitrary travel ban since 2017. He was notified of this ban in January 2017 via a text message from the General Directorate of Passports and the Public Prosecution, which included his national identity card number. A court order was issued in Al-Nuaimi’s favor in June 2017, stating that the grounds for the travel ban had ceased to exist, and therefore the ban against him should be lifted. However, the authorities continue to prevent Dr. Al-Nuaimi from leaving the country.
Al-Nuaimi was the defense lawyer for poet Mohammed Al-Ajami, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012 for a poem he recited at a private gathering criticising the Emir. Al-Ajami was released in March 2016 following an Emiri pardon, but was soon sentenced to life imprisonment again after peaceful protests erupted in August 2021. He subsequently left the country.
Expression
DEPORTED JOURNALIST THREATENED OVER CRITISM
In other developments, the case of independent journalist Faraj Mezher Al-Shammari is a clear example of the authorities’ ongoing targeting of all free voices that express personal opinions critical of the government’s policies and direction. At the end of 2025, Al-Shammari, a Qatari citizen who has resided in Saudi Arabia with his family since 1999 after his citizenship was arbitrarily revoked because of his critism of government policies, began speaking out about his case through an account he created on TikTok, where he sharply criticised Qatari policies. In February 2026, he was threatened by a Qatari official who told him to stop broadcasting on his TikTok account and cease criticising the state, or he would be held accountable. His account was immediately deleted without any explanation from the platform’s management. The Qatari authorities also prevented him from entering the country, even temporarily, to attend the mourning ceremonies held after the deaths of his father in 2021 and his mother in 2023.
In 1996, Al-Shammari, who had previously worked as a broadcaster on Qatar’s state television for four years, won a seat on the municipal council in one of the districts of Doha. Instead of being supported as a loyal citizen who had earned the votes of his constituents, this victory marked the beginning of his persecution.
Upon winning, he was assigned to write a column titled “The Fourth Dimension” in the Qatari newspaper Al-Raya, in which he addressed international affairs. On 15 June 1999, he wrote his first column about the fees and taxes imposed on citizens at that time, which was published after approval by the editor-in-chief at the time.
The following day, he was contacted and summoned by the Passport Office in Al-Gharafa, near Doha, and his personal civil ID card, along with those of his family members, was confiscated. No explanation was given for this arbitrary action.
On 28th June 1999, he and his family were detained in a deportation prison for three months without any investigation or interview. Although, while imprisoned, he published an apology in the same newspaper for his article, which contained no offense, after an officer promised him amnesty, the authorities did not pardon or release him. He was then forced to request deportation to Saudi Arabia, where he and his family have resided since 1999. His movable and immovable assets were confiscated, and they were left with only the clothes on their backs.
While in prison, he met other Qatari citizens who had been imprisoned and stripped of their citizenship in preparation for deportation to the Philippines for expressing their opinions on public affairs, topics that the authorities still do not want anyone else to comment on.
After arriving in Saudi Arabia, he distanced himself from journalism and the media but continued his writing and recording activities on social media. For 26 years of exile, he repeatedly appealed to the authorities to allow him to return to his homeland, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
GCHR previously documented his case in early 2023 and called on the authorities to reinstate his citizenship and that of all his family members, and to provide them with fair compensation for all the material and psychological damages they suffered as a result of these arbitrary and unjust measures.
BAHA'I COMMUNITY MEMBERS FACE DEPORTATION
On 8th May 2026, UN experts warned that Qatar’s pluralism is at risk and expressed their alarm at the potential erasure of the Baha’i religious community from Qatar. The experts cited reports of sudden administrative deportations and blacklisting of Baha’is of numerous nationalities, across different employment fields and ages. There have also been reports of detentions, most recently of a Baha’i long-term resident who has since been released and given just a few weeks to depart the country after the family has resided in Qatar for four generations. In another instance, the remaining two members of a family resident in Qatar for three generations and already impacted by family members being blacklisted 21 years ago, running a successful business contributing to the economy of the country, have now been given just days to leave. In some instances, those being blacklisted and family members under the sponsorship of those being blacklisted face serious refoulement risks.