Detained in Qatar: Sheikh Talal Al Thani’s wife says she doesn't know anything about him

Abu Dhabi: The case of Sheikh Talal Al Thani, detained in Qatar, took a new twist after the United Nations agreed to consider four cases related to the torture, injustice and abuse that the imprisoned royal and his family are subjected to by the Qatari authorities.

The complaints will be included in files that will be discussed in the framework of the evaluation of the human rights situation in the Gulf emirate.

Meanwhile, his grieving wife, Asma Arian, complained about the prevarication of the Qatari regime, and the interruption of communication with her husband.

Sheikh Talal, who has been detained for seven years without charge, is the grandson of Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, who was Emir of Qatar from 1960 until 1972.

The late Sheikh Ahmad was deposed by his cousin Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad, who is the grandfather of Qatar’s current Emir, Tamim bin Hamad.

Arian said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV that communication with her husband was cut off after the United Nations included his case in the Doha human rights file.

The grieving wife said she knew nothing about her husband at the moment.

Arian indicated that she had filed four complaints with the United Nations, one of them related to her family’s conditions, their time in Qatar, and their exposure to harassment. Other complaints relate to her husband’s torture and arbitrary detention, as well as corruption of Qatari judges and judiciary, she said.

Arian talked about the condition of her children, who are living in a tragic situation in Berlin without their father, amid threats and harassment from Doha officials.

This, she said, prompted the German security authorities to tighten security measures for fear of any harm that might inflict them.

Arian complained about the lack of interaction from Qatari authorities, which failed to respond to her inquiries about her husband and his place of detention.

However, she expressed optimism that the United Nations would take decisions that would end her husband’s long-standing suffering.

A few days ago, a document issued by the United Nations Human Rights Committee called on Qatar to provide a response on a number of aspects of the violation of human rights in the country, such as prison conditions and overcrowding, especially in light of a pandemic striking Doha, torture of detainees, women’s rights, and the violation of freedoms.

The initial report identified the issues that would be subject to discussion regarding the human rights situation in Qatar, and requested clarifications on a number of practices.

Arian wed Sheikh Talal in 2007, and according to Arian, her husband was conned out of his inheritance and was ultimately thrown in jail for being unable to repay his debts.

According to Arian, the Qatari regime attempted to force Sheikh Talal to sign papers attesting to his insanity, but she managed to convince her husband not to.

In 2019, Arian said that the Qatari regime had deprived her and her children of their most basic human rights to get “revenge” on their jailed father.

Arian, who lives in her native Germany, said that Sheikh Talal was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure during his time in prison. Now, coronavirus could be a life-threatening complication if he were to become infected.