Qatar ‘resolving citizenship cases’
The chairman of the Qatari Committee for Human Rights, Khalid al-Attiyah, has said a third of those who had been stripped of their Qatari nationality, have had their cases resolved.
Speaking on Saturday, al-Attiyah added that speedy efforts are under way to resolve the remaining cases.
Earlier, on Thursday, Qatari Foreign Minister Shaikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor al-Thani told Aljazeera that some 5000 citizens’ cases were being examined in connection to their holding dual nationality status.
The foreign minister and first deputy prime minister said these people had to choose between keeping their Qatari nationality or their original nationalities, and said this was being tackled as a pressing domestic issue.
“Injustice was done to part of this group … Our human rights committee had issued a statement a few days ago and it is being discussed by the cabinet, which had sent to the amir to look into it,” he told Aljazeera.
“We don’t want to enter into a political game. The case is now in front of the cabinet and any mistakes that were made will be rectified.”
Shaikh Hamad bin Jassem also accused outside parties, whom he refused to name, of trying to exploit the issue for political reasons.
In the interview, he denied that revoking the citizenship of these people was aimed at punishing members of the al-Murra tribe in particular.
Al-Murra are a formerly nomadic, bedouin tribe whose roots trace back to eastern parts of Saudi Arabia around the Qatari border.