Security forces in Qatar detained two journalists from Norwegian state television for over 30 hours and deleted footage they gathered at a migrant labour camp as they tried to report on worker issues ahead of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, authorities said Wednesday. (More Football News)
Qatar바카라s government accused NRK journalists Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani of 바카라trespassing on private property and filming without a permit바카라 as the two returned Wednesday to Norway following their arrest. The journalists contended they had verbal permission from those they filmed there.
The arrests sparked a diplomatic dispute between Norway and Qatar. Norwegian news agency NTB reported that the Qatari ambassador to the country was summoned to Oslo바카라s foreign ministry over the matter. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called the arrests 바카라unacceptable.바카라
바카라A free press is crucial in a functioning democracy,바카라 Gahr Stoere wrote on Twitter. 바카라This also shows the importance of this year바카라s awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize (to journalists). I am very happy that Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani have now been released.바카라
Ekeland, a sports journalist, and Ghorbani, a photographer, had been in Qatar as the country marked one year to go before the World Cup. 바카라They had gotten all the permissions needed to conduct interviews,바카라 NRK boss Thor Gjermund Eriksen told a news conference at its headquarters in Oslo.
Ekeland said they 바카라didn바카라t have a written permission바카라 to film on private property but those there OK바카라d it. He said security forces in civilian clothes later came to their hotel and asked them to come to a police station.
바카라They were concerned that we were not allowed to film. But we were invited there by the World Cup organization to film there and there were a bunch of other media organizations there as well,바카라 Ekeland said.
The security forces had a 바카라tone that was quite harsh and they wanted to intimidated us,바카라 but he said, 바카라there were never threats or violence.바카라 바카라We feel that we were treated well,바카라 Ekeland said.
The journalists told NRK that they were not allowed to leave Qatar with their equipment. The Norwegian Union of Journalists and the country바카라s football federation both criticized the journalists바카라 arrest.
In a statement to NRK, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said 바카라they were arrested while performing their duties as journalists. Freedom of expression is the mainstay of a functioning democracy, and also fundamental to be able to fulfill other human rights,바카라 she said.
Qatar바카라s government said in a statement that the two had been arrested after receiving a complaint from an unidentified private property owner in the country바카라s Industrial Area, which is home to labour camps. It said that Ekeland had applied for a film permit, but authorities hadn바카라t granted it before he went to the site.
Qatar, like other Gulf Arab states where speech is strictly governed, requires journalists to have permissions to operate and to film.
바카라As in almost every country, trespassing is against Qatari law, which the crew members were fully aware of before entering the property,바카라 the government said. It acknowledged that 바카라the footage they captured while trespassing was deleted by the authorities in accordance with Qatari law.바카라
Asked about the Qatar government바카라s comments about the journalists, NRK declined to immediately comment, saying 바카라our main concern now is their wellbeing.바카라
Qatar, which sticks out like a thumb into the Persian Gulf, is home to the forward headquarters of the U.S. military바카라s Central Command. It has faced increased scrutiny over the treatment of migrant labor in the country since winning the right to host the upcoming tournament.
