As in many Gulf countries, the suppression of freedom of expression is a matter of great concern in Qatar. The latter takes place through a series of instruments that the country’s government implements to silence all those who criticise the government and stand up for the human rights of the country’s citizens. These instruments are mostly laws with vague content through which the Qatari government then persecutes its victims with unfounded and not very credible accusations.
As the most used means of exchanging information nowadays are social media, many activists and political dissidents use these channels in order to advance their battles and raise awareness on certain issues. Systematically, however, the Qatari government silences these people, usually accusing them of sowing hate messages, inciting revolt or insulting the country’s authorities.
This is what happened to the brothers Hazza and Rashed al-Marri. The two had been arrested in 2021 on charges of publishing critical speeches against the government online. In reality, what they were criticising was the electoral law that discriminated against members of the al-Marri tribe. In 2022, Hazza and Rashed were finally sentenced to life imprisonment after a long period of arbitrary detention.
Recently, two other online activists suffered the same kind of repression by the authorities. The first activist is Umm Nasser, who, on 20 March 2025, was sentenced by the Criminal Court to three years’ imprisonment. The charge against her was that, through the creation of a media account, Nasser spread false information and hate messages against the Qatari judicial authority. Umm had posted a video on TikTok asking the judicial authorities the reasons behind the arrests of innocent people and accusing them of not respecting human rights. After this, she was arrested and similarly taken to Doha prison. There, according to various testimonies, she is being mistreated and is without proper medical care.
The other activist who was recently convicted for his online activities is Ahmed Al-Kuwari. The latter, very active on social media, often published videos and posts in which he openly criticised the Qatari government and the Emir’s authority. In January 2024, he was arrested without any charges being brought against him. In April of the same year he was taken to Qatar where he was sentenced to five years in prison in July. After a few months, this sentence was increased to 13. Al-Kuwari is still in prison, sentenced on the basis of an unfair trial and based on completely unfounded charges.
The Qatari government’s crackdown on internet activists is of great concern and shows how the country uses its judiciary to repress free people. Umm Nasser and Ahmed Al-Kuwari have been accused of carrying out actions that are not reflected in their online activities. What they merely did was to demonstrate the inconsistency of the country’s government and to denounce its terrible repression of free people. No false information, hatred or challenges to government power can be found in their speeches. These crimes are only found in the vague laws that the judiciary interprets in its favour each time.
As the repression of online activists is becoming more and more constant in Qatar, they have to pay more and more attention to their activities on the net. However, their courage to continue to denounce what is really happening inside the country is admirable. It is therefore crucial that we continue to speak out about those who are silenced by the Qatari government so that their stories become known and the country’s government is held accountable for these unacceptable acts of repression.
