NHCR: Qatar blockade worse than Berlin Wall
Agencies
Human rights body in Qatar calls for UN fact-finding mission to document violations due to Saudi-led bloc blockade.
The cutting of diplomatic ties, closure of air, land and sea and the restrictions placed on Qatar are “worse than the Berlin Wall”, according to the chairman of National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) of Qatar.
Speaking in Geneva on Friday, Ali Bin Smaikh al-Marri called on the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the blockade of Qatar as it infringes upon the rights of more than 13,000 citizens of the four Arab Gulf countries involved.
According to a report released by NHRC on Thursday, the actions taken by these states separated mothers from their children in some cases.
Hundreds of complaints were submitted to the NHRC by email, phone and hotlines, or personal visits to its headquarters in Doha.
“These procedures [blockade] are worse than the Berlin Wall,” Marri said in Geneva.
“Families have been separated. In one instance, a Saudi man died in Qatar. His sons were prevented by Saudi authorities to bring the body back home so Qatar took the responsibility to bury him.
“This is collective punishment and the bloackade will affect thousands of people.”
“If this blockade will go on we will ask the Human Rights Council (OHCHR) to form a fact finding mission to see and follow up on these violations,” Marri said.
