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
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.”