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BBC says its reporters were imprisoned while investigating Qatar's World Cup

In this photo taken during a government organized media tour, laborers work at the Al-Wakra Stadium that is under construction for the 2022 World Cup, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

In this photo taken during a government organized media tour, laborers work at the Al-Wakra Stadium that is under construction for the 2022 World Cup, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

The BBC published a story on Monday documenting the experience of several of their reporters in Qatar. The BBC was there investigating the living conditions of migrant workers who are preparing the country for the 2022 World Cup. While on their way to a tour of a work site, they said they were stopped by police, had all their equipment confiscated, and were imprisoned before eventually being let free.

From the BBC:

A dozen security officers frisked us in the street, shouting at us when we tried to talk. They took away our equipment and hard drives and drove us to their headquarters.

Later, in the city’s main police station, the cameraman, translator, driver and I were interrogated separately by intelligence officers. The questioning was hostile.

We were never accused of anything directly, instead they asked over and over what we had done and who we had met.

The article says the reporters were also detained a second time for questioning. The BBC says that hard drives, cameras and equipment have still not been returned.

The Qatari government has issued a statement on the matter:

“The Government Communications Office invited a dozen reporters to see – first-hand – some sub-standard labour accommodation as well as some of the newer labour villages. We gave the reporters free rein to interview whomever they chose and to roam unaccompanied in the labour villages.

“Perhaps anticipating that the government would not provide this sort of access, the BBC crew decided to do their own site visits and interviews in the days leading up to the planned tour. In doing so, they trespassed on private property, which is against the law in Qatar just as it is in most countries. Security forces were called and the BBC crew was detained.”

This is BBC’s response:

“We are pleased that the BBC team has been released but we deplore the fact that they were detained in the first place. Their presence in Qatar was no secret and they were engaged in a perfectly proper piece of journalism.

“The Qatari authorities have made a series of conflicting allegations to justify the detention, all of which the team rejects. We are pressing the Qatari authorities for a full explanation and for the return of the confiscated equipment.”

The BBC says that other reporters have been detained in a similar matter when investigating the living conditions of migrant workers in Qatar.

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