Qatar forces raid royal's home, seize documents

Dubai - The raid, which lasted six hours, was carried out by a unit of 15 members of the Qatari security forces

The Qatari security forces raided the palace of Sheikh Sultan bin Suhaim Al Thani in Doha and confiscated documents and memorabilia belonging to his father, former foreign minister Sheikh Suhaim bin Hamad, according to media reports.

The security forces confiscated around 137 bags and a number of iron boxes containing the documents and holdings of Sheikh Sultan, as well as the large possessions and archives of his father. The documents and other materials contain a wealth of information, and accurately record the history of Qatar and its internal events since the sixties until his death in 1985.

Sky News television reported that the raid, which lasted six hours, was carried out by a unit of 15 members of the Qatari security forces.

In an another violation of privacy, state security agents also stormed the private room of Sheikha Mina Al Dosari, the widow of Sheikh Suhaim and the mother of Sheikh Sultan, and confiscated all her personal and family pictures, as well as all her jewellery, valuables and money.

In addition, workers in the palace were assaulted and arrested with the Sudanese housekeeper being deported, while the fate of two arrested Moroccans is still unknown. Another Sudanese female worker was detained for eight hours. When the last reports came in, the palace staff were still being held at an undisclosed location. The palace is now under the complete control of the security forces.

Sky News also confirmed that the Qatari authorities have frozen all of Sheikh Sultan's assets and seized his seal, documents and trade contracts. This came days after the freeze placed on the assets of Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani.

Meanwhile, the Emirates Association for Human Rights (EHRA) has denounced the Qatari authorities' freezing of assets of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani and Sheikh Sultan bin Suhaim.

EHRA chairman Mohamed Salim Al Ka'bi said in a statement that the Qatar action is a flagrant violation of human rights and termed it as "a systematic approach of intimidation adopted by the State of Qatar.".

"These actions fly in the face of all human rights treaties and drive home the fact that Qatar has become a police state that blatantly defies all legal restrictions," Al Ka'bi said.

"The Qatari regime honours me by freezing all of my bank accounts, and I thank them for this honour and I have the honour to present it to the homeland," Al Thani tweeted recently.

"I hope that Qatar will expel opportunists and return to the Gulf embrace," he added.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com

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