A former Qatari Prime Minister – known as the “man who bought London” – is reportedly claiming he has diplomatic immunity from allegations that he falsely imprisoned a British citizen and held him in conditions that “amounted to torture”.
According to court documents, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, was responsible for the detention of Fawaz al-Attiya in Qatar for 15 months, where he was held in solitary confinement, deprived of sleep and kept in handcuffs for most of the time.
Mr Attiya claimed that after he fell out with the Sheikh over a land deal, he lost his job as a government spokesman, his land was seized by Sheikh Hamad and he suffered “increasing harassment, threats and surveillance”.
Mr Attiya said he was then accused of leaking state secrets while working as a spokesman and that in 2009 he was “forcibly taken” from Saudi Arabia to Qatar. Citing court documents, The Guardian reported that Sheikh Hamad planned to claim diplomatic immunity at a hearing at the High Court in London later this month.
Since November 2014, Sheikh Hamad has been listed as having diplomatic status in the UK as a “minister-counsellor”. His lawyers told The Guardian that Sheikh Hamad’s diplomatic duties involved developing “the very close relationship which exists between the state of Qatar and the UK, with particular emphasis and responsibility for the promotion and development of economic relations”.
They have previously dismissed London-born Mr Attiya’s claims as ridiculous, saying he was “treated in a manner that accorded fully with Qatari and international law”.
