Danish journalist union advises against travel to Qatar
Denmark’s Union of Journalists is urging journalists not to travel to Qatar to cover next year’s World Cup, saying the Arab country cannot be trusted
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Denmark’s Union of Journalists is urging all Danish journalists not to travel to Qatar to cover next year's World Cup, saying the Arab country cannot be trusted.
“I do not trust Qatar," said Allan Boye Thulstrup, the union’s deputy leader. "I am afraid that the sources critical of the government risk disappearing or going to prison for a long time, and that they will not be treated nicely in prison," he added, speaking Wednesday to industry magazine Journalisten.
“It is of no use that Qatar first promises the press can work unhindered and that they then arrest journalists,” Boye Thulstrup said. His union has more than 18,000 members.
The statement came as a reaction to the detention by Qatari security forces of two journalists from Norway and the deletion of their footage gathered at a migrant labor camp as they tried to report on worker issues ahead of the FIFA 2022 World Cup.
The government in Qatar accused the two journalists of “trespassing on private property and filming without a permit” as the two returned Wednesday to Norway. They contended they had verbal permission from those they filmed there. Their equipment was seized.
“Now the authorities in Qatar know what is on the journalists’ equipment,” Boye Thulstrup was quoted as saying. “If (the journalists) have been in contact with sources that are critical to the government ... then it is a process in which Qatar has short-circuited the entire source protection."