World Cup host Qatar has arrested several protesting guest workers and apparently expelled some of them from the country. This is reported by Equidem, a London-based human rights consultancy.
Qatar’s government confirmed several arrests in the wake of the May 14 protests just under three months before the start of the World Cup, but did not comment on the alleged expulsions.
About 60 workers had protested against the working conditions in Doha, some of them are said to have received no wages for seven months. “We spoke to several men who took part in the protests, including one who was brought back to Nepal,” said Equidem boss Mustafa Qadri. “Other workers from Bangladesh, India, Egypt and the Philippines were also sent back.”
The government of the desert state justified the arrests on Monday with violations of public safety laws – the workers had blocked traffic, among other things. The Department of Labor will now pay the wages of the men working for the Al Bandary International Group. Investigations have been underway against the conglomerate for some time because of the lack of salaries.
Qatar has been under criticism for years because of the working conditions. The rights of guest workers were also systematically disregarded during the construction of the stadiums for the Winter World Cup (November 20 to December 18). Human rights organizations had recently asked the world association FIFA to pay compensation for guest workers and their families.