The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) welcomed yesterday the European Parliament’s decision that condemns the violations and discriminatory practices of the blockading countries against Qatari citizens, which also included calling on the Egyptian authorities to release Qatari citizens Ola Al Qaradawi and her husband.
The NHRC also welcomed the Interpol’s decision to remove Qatari citizen Dr Youssef Al Qaradawi from its red notice (wanted list) after it found that the allegations made against him were political in nature and violate international human rights.
The European Parliament approved a draft decision criticizing the continued violations of human rights as a result of the continued blockade imposed on the State of Qatar, and its resulting discriminatory measures on the parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates against the State of Qatar since June 2017, and called for an end to them.
The European Parliament also demanded that the Egyptian government release Qatari citizen Ola Al Qaradawi and her husband, who are arrested without charges.
Based on that, the NHRC stressed its full support of the European Parliament’s decision, and renewed its rejection of the blockading countries’ discriminatory practices that affected Qatari citizens, three of which suffered forced disappearance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The NHRC called on the European Parliament to issue a similar decision against Saudi Arabia that calls for the country to release the three Qatari citizens who forcibly disappeared there, to end all arbitrary measures against Qataris, and to hold those responsible for the measure accountable.
The committee also confirmed that it was in constant contact with the United Nations working group on Enforced Disappearance, and will follow up with various legal bodies to hold the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accountable.
The National Human Rights Commission expressed regret that the issue of the violations of the blockade and its impact were not discussed in the last GCC summit in Riyadh.
