Qatar releases Kenyan rights activist after three weeks in solitary confinement

Qatari authorities released a Kenyan security guard on Wednesday who was arrested after blogging about the plight of migrant workers, a human rights group has said.

Migrant Rights said in a statement that Malcolm Bidali, who was forcibly disappeared last month, had been "released from custody but the charges against him remain".

Last week, Qatar charged Bidali, 28, with taking "foreign" money to spread disinformation after holding him in solitary confinement for nearly three weeks.

Timeline

Qatar : Retour sur l'arrestation de Malcolm Bidali pour avoir dénoncé les conditions de travail sur les chantiers de la Coupe du monde

Date:

5 Jan 2022

Content Type:

Article

Available languages: français
Qatar: Kenyan activist Malcolm Bidali reflects on his detention and shares experiences about migrant workers’ living and working conditions

Date:

17 Sep 2021

Content Type:

Article
Qatar: Malcolm Bidali reflects on his detention, intimidation & being charged with a crime after highlighting migrant worker abuses

Date:

24 Aug 2021

Content Type:

Article

What happens when no one’s looking? Malcolm Bidali reflects on the last 12 weeks of detention, intimidation, and being charged for a ‘crime’ of highlighting the plight of lower-income migrant workers like himself
Kenyan labour rights activist leaves Qatar after paying hefty fine for publishing "false news"

Date:

19 Aug 2021

Content Type:

Article

Malcolm Bidali, a Kenyan national, was forcibly disappeared by Qatari authorities on 4 May and held in solitary confinement for a month. The 28-year-old is a security guard, blogger and activist who has been vocal about the plight of migrant workers in Qatar
Gulf: Migrants increasingly use social media to highlight labour abuse; arrest of activist & security guard Malcolm Bidali shows risks

Date:

4 Jun 2021

Content Type:

Article

Domestic workers on Facebook and TikTok, and construction workers on Twitter. Migrant workers across the Gulf have been taking to social media to protest long hours, low or unpaid wages, and passport confiscation, yet the arrest and prosecution against Malcolm Bidali highlights the risks to workers of speaking out.
Qatar releases Kenyan rights activist after three weeks in solitary confinement

Date:

2 Jun 2021

Content Type:

Article

Migrant Rights said Malcolm Bidali, who was forcibly disappeared last month, had been "released from custody but the charges against him remain".
Fingerprinting Campaign Targeting Malcolm Bidali

Date:

1 Jun 2021

Content Type:

Article
Qatar: Rights group condemns charges against 'forcibly disappeared' Kenyan activist

Date:

1 Jun 2021

Content Type:

Article
Qatar charges migrant activist Malcolm Bidali with taking payment to spread disinformation

Date:

30 May 2021

Content Type:

Article

Rights groups have called for Malcolm Bidali's release since he was detained by Qatari authorities on 5 May
Response by GSS Certis

Date:

24 May 2021

Content Type:

Company Response
Response by Temasek

Date:

24 May 2021

Content Type:

Company Response
Rights group KHRC demands release of Kenyan activist detained in Qatar

Date:

21 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Malcolm Bidali makes contact with his mother in Jersey

Date:

20 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Qatar detains Kenyan worker outspoken on labour rights abuses

Date:

20 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Qatar detains Kenyan guard who wrote on laborers’ struggles

Date:

19 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Jersey mother fears for human rights activist son detained in Qatar

Date:

19 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Concerns over Qatar’s arrest of Kenyan security guard

Date:

19 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Where is Malcolm? Qatar urged to release worker activist held for breaching ‘security laws’

Date:

15 May 2021

Content Type:

Article

Kenyan security guard, activist and blogger Malcolm Bidali was taken for questioning by Qatar state security services on May 4. Bidali has written about labour abuse faced by migrant workers in Qatar under his pen name Noah for the advocacy group Migrant-Rights.org
Rights group fear for migrant activist ‘disappeared’ in Qatar

Date:

14 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Alarm after Kenyan migrant worker Malcolm Bidali arrested in Qatar

Date:

14 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Kenyan Migrant Worker and Activist Malcolm Bidali Arrested in Qatar

Date:

13 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
PRESS RELEASE: Qatar: Fears grow for forcibly disappeared migrants’ rights activist

Date:

13 May 2021

Content Type:

Article
Rights groups ask Qatar to disclose whereabouts of migrant rights commentator

Date:

13 May 2021

Content Type:

Article

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Qatar releases Kenyan rights activist after three weeks in solitary confinement

Timeline

Qatar : Retour sur l'arrestation de Malcolm Bidali pour avoir dénoncé les conditions de travail sur les chantiers de la Coupe du monde

Qatar: Kenyan activist Malcolm Bidali reflects on his detention and shares experiences about migrant workers’ living and working conditions

Qatar: Malcolm Bidali reflects on his detention, intimidation & being charged with a crime after highlighting migrant worker abuses

Kenyan labour rights activist leaves Qatar after paying hefty fine for publishing "false news"

Gulf: Migrants increasingly use social media to highlight labour abuse; arrest of activist & security guard Malcolm Bidali shows risks

Qatar releases Kenyan rights activist after three weeks in solitary confinement

Fingerprinting Campaign Targeting Malcolm Bidali

Qatar: Rights group condemns charges against 'forcibly disappeared' Kenyan activist

Qatar charges migrant activist Malcolm Bidali with taking payment to spread disinformation

Response by GSS Certis

Response by Temasek

Rights group KHRC demands release of Kenyan activist detained in Qatar

Malcolm Bidali makes contact with his mother in Jersey

Qatar detains Kenyan worker outspoken on labour rights abuses

Qatar detains Kenyan guard who wrote on laborers’ struggles

Jersey mother fears for human rights activist son detained in Qatar

Concerns over Qatar’s arrest of Kenyan security guard

Where is Malcolm? Qatar urged to release worker activist held for breaching ‘security laws’

Rights group fear for migrant activist ‘disappeared’ in Qatar

Alarm after Kenyan migrant worker Malcolm Bidali arrested in Qatar

Kenyan Migrant Worker and Activist Malcolm Bidali Arrested in Qatar

PRESS RELEASE: Qatar: Fears grow for forcibly disappeared migrants’ rights activist

Rights groups ask Qatar to disclose whereabouts of migrant rights commentator