UN inquiry criticises Qatar’s justice system

A United Nations investigator permitted by Qatar to examine its justice system delivered a blunt critique on Sunday, saying that prosecutors and judges need more autonomy and training, defence lawyers should have access to the evidence against their clients, and foreign suspects may be vulnerable to discrimination.

The investigator, Gabriela Knaul, the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, also said that Qatar, the affluent and rapidly growing emirate, needs more lawyers. She also criticised the judicial gender imbalance, noting that only two of the country’s 198 judges are women.

Knaul’s appraisal was presented at a news conference in Doha, the capital, after an eight-day fact-finding visit, granted by the Qatari government at her request. It came against the backdrop of heightened publicity over perceived flaws in a number of prominent cases involving foreigners, most notably an American couple accused of starving their adopted African daughter to death in order to sell her organs.

Lawyers for the couple, Matthew and Grace Huang, from Los Angeles, denied the charges, calling them an egregious mix of police mishandling, flawed medical evidence and racism that reflected inherent bias in the Qatari system.

The couple spent nearly a year in prison awaiting the court to hear their side. Although the Huangs were released from prison a few months ago, they have been ordered to remain in Qatar pending the outcome of their trial, which could still be weeks away.

Knaul did not single out any prosecutions in her news conference but said she had received reports of “discriminatory attitudes” exhibited by the police and judiciary toward non-Qataris. She also met on Saturday with the Huangs, whose case has attracted international attention, and said in response to a question on Sunday that the travel ban on them should be rescinded.

“Our case highlights Qatar’s deficiencies,” the Huangs said in a statement after meeting with Knaul. “We were able to share our concerns about a fair trial and due process,” they said. “We are innocent and living through a nightmare.”

Knaul enumerated more than a dozen recommendations for the Qatari system, including basic transparency that allows lawyers access to information, including prosecutor evidence; establishing an ethical code of conduct for judges; modernising the current system of handwritten minutes of trials, to avoid manipulation; and providing proper translations of documents and court proceedings for non-Arabic speakers.

She said her opinions about the system had been “very well received” by Qatari officials but it was unclear which, if any, they would accept.

Knaul told reporters that Qatar’s rapidly growing population, fed partly by demand for foreign workers engaged in a wide range of construction, including preparations for the 2022 World Cup, had strained all parts of the government.

“They will need to adapt and promote reforms in order to be able to meet the challenges that will continue to arise with the influx and the tremendous economic development the country is going through,” she said.