Egyptian trapped in Qatar tells his story

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Tue, 09 Oct 2018 - 12:24 GMT

BY

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 - 12:24 GMT

FILE PHOTO: People sit on the corniche in Doha, Qatar, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: People sit on the corniche in Doha, Qatar, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon/File Photo

CAIRO - 9 October 2018: The digital platform QatariLeaks posted a video on Oct. 9, featuring an Egyptian citizen who has been trapped in Qatar for two years and has gotten his savings confiscated after being dismissed from his work in Doha.

Nabil al-Masry appeared in the video, saying that he is banned from both leaving and working in Doha, and that he has neither an income nor a residence. He explained that he had been working as executive manager of an affiliate company to Al-Sharq newspaper since December 2013.




His life went downhill when he expressed views supporting the Egyptian state and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as some of his rivals reported him to Qatari authorities, exploiting legal loopholes.

Masry says that the Qatar National Bank (QNB) froze his bank accounts, claiming that he did not pay his dues. In May 2016, he was terminated and denied his financial rights. The man adds that he got three job offers as general manager locally and abroad but Al-Sharq newspaper ensured he would not get any of them by keeping him under its sponsorship.

According to Qatari Labor Law, foreigners working in the princedom must be under the sponsorship of a specific employer, where “the employee is unable to leave the country without their sponsor’s approval in the event of an emergency, employment or business dispute,” according to Online Qatar website. That permission is called a No-Objection Certificate.

Masry says he lodged a complaint (file no. 15293 - request no. 15298) to the Qatari National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) in October 2016. The outcome was a rejection by Labor Court to transfer the sponsorship to another employer in the country as the decision is only in the hands of the original employer. Also, his demands of compensation were denied.

Egypt along with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar on June 5, 2017 for supporting terrorism. Other countries joined the boycott to pressure the princedom to seize providing refuge, as well as financial and media support for terrorists.

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