Qatari attorney general says Doha to sue blockading countries

Qatar says it is forming a committee to pursue compensation for damages stemming from its isolation by four Arab countries, its attorney general announced on Sunday.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

09 July, 2017

Qatar Attorney General Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri AFP

Ali Bin Fetais Al Marri said a committee was formed to receive all cases [AFP]

Doha will pursue legal action over damages caused by the blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, the country's Attorney General Ali Bin Fetais Al Marri said on Sunday.

A central committee has been formed to ensure those hit by the sanctions receive adequate compensation from the blockading countries, Marri said.

Speaking at a press conference, Marri gave few details but said the body would use both domestic and international mechanisms to seek compensation.

Members of the newly formed committee include the attorney general himself as well as Qatar's minister of justice and minister of foreign affairs.

The body will receive all cases from those affected by the anti-Qatar measures.

It will look to sue the universities in the blockading countries that have taken action against Qatar nationals, Marri added.

On Thursday, Doha submitted a report to the United Nation's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) detailing violations made against Qatari students by educational institutions in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The reports, submitted by the chairman of Qatar's National Human Rights Committee [NHRC] includes violations such as preventing Qatari nationals from sitting final exams, withholding graduation certificates and arbitrarily terminating students' registrations.

In June, the four states announced the severing of all diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations the emirate allegedly bankrolled Islamist extremists and had close ties with Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran.

Then, on June 22, they issued a list of demands, which includes the shutting down of Doha-based Al-Jazeera channel and the London-based The New Arab, in order to lift the sanctions.

Qatar, which denies being a supporter of extremism, rejects the "unrealistic" demands as an attempt by the Gulf states to undermine the nation's sovereignty.