Arrestasjonen av NRKs journalister i Qatar er uakseptabel. En fri presse er avgjørende i et fungerende demokrati. Dette viser også viktigheten årets tildeling av Nobels fredspris. Jeg er svært glad for at Halvor Ekeland og Lokman Ghorbani nå er løslatt.
— Jonas Gahr Støre (@jonasgahrstore) November 24, 2021
Source:
https://scmp.com/sport/football/article/3157314/qatar-2022-norway-angry-after-qatar-arrests-two-journalists-covering Football
Qatar 2022: Norway angry after Qatar arrests two journalists covering preparations for next year’s Fifa World Cup
- ‘The arrest of NRK journalists in Qatar is unacceptable. A free press is crucial for a functioning democracy,’ Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store says
- NRK reporters Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani were held for around 30 hours before being released and returning to Norway
NRK journalists Halvor Ekeland (right) and Lokman Ghorbani (left) are received by head of NRK sports Egil Sundvor (C) after returning from Qatar. Photo: EPA
Norway has summoned Qatar’s ambassador to discuss the arrests of two Norwegian TV reporters in Doha, where they were covering preparations and controversies around the 2022 World Cup.
Their employer, public broadcaster NRK, said Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani were arrested without any explanation on Sunday night, just before their flight home.
The detention came exactly a year ahead of the opening of the tournament which is due to get under way in the wealthy Gulf emirate on November 21, 2022. They were freed without charge after around 30 hours and landed in Oslo on Wednesday morning.
Norway’s foreign ministry said that Qatar’s envoy to Oslo was summoned to discuss the case of the reporters. “The arrest of NRK journalists in Qatar is unacceptable,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
“A free press is crucial for a functioning democracy,” he wrote on Twitter. “I am very glad Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani have now been released.”
Store added that the affair highlighted the importance of this year’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize to campaigning journalists Dmitry Muratov, of Russia, and Maria Ressa, of the Philippines.
Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store says he is happy the two journalists have been released. Photo: EPA
Qatari officials confirmed that two journalists were arrested for trespassing on private property.
“The crew were given access to film wherever they wanted in Qatar,” the Government Communications Office said in a statement. “They were provided with all the filming permits they had requested prior to their arrival and were offered meetings with senior government and third-party officials.
“These freedoms, however, do not override the application of common law, which the crew knowingly and wilfully violated.”
Drones fly over Doha as Qatar celebrates one year before the 2022 World Cup. Photo: AFP
NRK director-general Thor Gjermund called the episode “an attack against press freedom” in a press conference in Oslo. Ghorbani said the team’s equipment was seized and that they had to show their recordings for hours.
Nordic countries including Norway have led global criticism of the decision to award Qatar the 2022 tournament and kept up pressure on the country to improve worker welfare.
Rights groups accuse Qatar of using cheap migrant labour, who face punishing sometimes dangerous conditions and have limited freedoms, to build its World Cup mega-projects.
Workers use heavy machinery in this 2015 photo as the Al-Wakra Stadium was being built for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Photo: AP
The country fiercely rejects all criticism and insists it has reformed its labour laws and adopted a non-discriminatory hourly minimum wage of around US$1.30. The head of Norway’s Olympic committee, Berit Kjoll, called the arrests “shocking and totally unacceptable”.
“We must stop giving major sporting competitions to countries that do not respect freedom of the press and freedom of expression,” she said.
Calls for Norway to boycott the World Cup had been gaining momentum but were finally ruled out following a vote in June. Norway then came third in Group G behind the Netherlands and Turkey and failed to book a place in the tournament.