Brussels, Belgium, 23 Feb. 2019

Dr. Ali Bin Smaikh Al Marri, Chairman, National Human Rights Committee of Qatar and the European Parliament has called for the dispatch of a fact-finding committee to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reveal the fate of the three Qatari nationals who have been forcibly disappeared since the imposition of the blockade on Qatar on 5 June 2017.

The Government of the State of Qatar to take all legal and judicial mechanisms to follow up on the fate of the forcibly disappeared citizens and to demand their immediate release and to appeal to the Security Council to file a complaint about the failure of the UAE to comply with the precautionary decision of the International Court of Justice.

Isabella de Monti, Member of the European Parliament said that it is no longer possible to silence violations of human rights due to the embargo imposed on Qatar, stressing that the European Parliament will move immediately and take effective measures to help those affected by the victims of human rights violations resulting from the blockade of Qatar.

This came during the second symposium of its kind held by the European Parliament within two days, in a series of meetings scheduled to hear live testimonies of the victims of the siege of Qatar in the presence of Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, Qatari nationals Dr. Wafaa Yazidi, one of the victims of family dispersion, Mohammed al-Mir, who was expelled from the Sorbonne Abu Dhabi.

The seminar was moderated by Ms. Isabella de Monte, MP of the European Parliament, a number of deputies from various parliamentary committees, HE Mr. Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Khulaifi, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Belgium, as well as human rights activists and representatives of international media.

Al Marri: European Parliament hearings are an important step to redress victims

Dr. Ali Bin Smaikh Al-Marri highlighted the importance of the initiative of the Human Rights Sub-Committee of the European Parliament to hold a series of seminars to listen directly to the victims of the siege and to try to understand the suffering they have suffered for more than 20 months.
He also praised the move of the Committee on the Arabian Peninsula and its awareness of its delay in interacting with the appeals of those affected by the crisis for their fairness, praising at the same time the size of the remarkable turnout witnessed by the hearing – the first of its kind – hosted by the European Parliament by MPs and international media, The victims of violations of the siege imposed on Qatar, from under the dome of the European Parliament, which has always raised the defense of human rights in the world.

“Holding hearings for the victims of the blockade is an important step to redress victims affected by the violations and suffering they have been facing for more than a year and a half, and less to listen to them to understand the reality of the crisis, as did many human rights organizations that responded to the appeals, The National Human Rights Committee visited Qatar to meet the victims closely. ”

“Today, I will not tell you on behalf of the suffering of the victims, because you will hear from the Qatari citizens the story of their suffering, which reflects pictures of thousands of similar stories of the victims of the siege,” he said. You are among the three Qatari citizens who have disappeared forcibly since the beginning of the siege of Qatar. Nothing is known about their whereabouts. All the efforts and moves of the National Committee have not been successful. Of human rights in the payment The Saudi authorities to reveal the fate of the disappeared and their whereabouts. ”

“We call upon the European Parliamentarians to appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate the fate of the three Qatari citizens and their places of residence, and we call on the Saudi authorities to release them immediately,” he said. The International Court of Justice and to take all legal and judicial mechanisms to demand the release of its nationals who have been forcibly disappeared. ”

“The National Human Rights Commission has provided all the information requested by the relevant UN mechanisms on the identity of Qatari nationals, victims of forced abduction and arbitrary detention, and we are in constant contact with the UN team on enforced disappearances. We will follow up our movements with various international legal and judicial bodies to hold Saudi Arabia accountable, Define their international responsibilities and press for the immediate release of Qatari nationals; victims of enforced disappearance. ”

“The Saudi authorities have full legal responsibility for the fate of the three Qatari citizens and the psychological and physical damage they may cause,” he said. As a result of their arbitrary detention, in flagrant violation of the provisions of international law, international covenants and human rights conventions. ”
“It is no longer acceptable to remain silent about the Saudi human rights violations, which are causing discontent among human rights organizations in the world. We call on the international community, Western governments,