Published : 19-09-2021
Palestinian refugee Muhannad Tawfiq Shaarawi has been detained by the Qatari authorities for overstaying his touristic visa.
Muhannad told AGPS that he had entered Qatar last year after he received a grant from the Qatari Foreign Ministry through its embassy in Khartoum. Authorities have turned down his appeals for visa renewal.
The Qatari authorities ordered him to leave the country and go back after obtaining a new visa. “How on earth can I do this? My situation is very complicated”, said Muhannad. “My Palestinian-Authority-stamped passport and Syrian travel document do not enable me to freely enter and exit the country”.
The refugee appealed to the Qatari government, Palestinian embassy, and international human rights organizations to pressurize the Qatari authorities to release him from custody, work out his legal situation and backtrack on his deportation to war-ravaged Syria.
Syria remains unsafe for refugee returns. Arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance continue to be among the most urgent challenges to human rights in Syria with tens of thousands detained in prisons, primarily by the Syrian government. The release of detainees and the disclosure of the fate and location of those forcibly disappeared in Syria are urgent priorities for Syrians and Syrian civil society.
Palestinian refugee Muhannad Tawfiq Shaarawi has been detained by the Qatari authorities for overstaying his touristic visa.
Muhannad told AGPS that he had entered Qatar last year after he received a grant from the Qatari Foreign Ministry through its embassy in Khartoum. Authorities have turned down his appeals for visa renewal.
The Qatari authorities ordered him to leave the country and go back after obtaining a new visa. “How on earth can I do this? My situation is very complicated”, said Muhannad. “My Palestinian-Authority-stamped passport and Syrian travel document do not enable me to freely enter and exit the country”.
The refugee appealed to the Qatari government, Palestinian embassy, and international human rights organizations to pressurize the Qatari authorities to release him from custody, work out his legal situation and backtrack on his deportation to war-ravaged Syria.
Syria remains unsafe for refugee returns. Arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance continue to be among the most urgent challenges to human rights in Syria with tens of thousands detained in prisons, primarily by the Syrian government. The release of detainees and the disclosure of the fate and location of those forcibly disappeared in Syria are urgent priorities for Syrians and Syrian civil society.
