On 13 May, five human rights organisations - including Migrant-Rights.org (MR), FairSquare, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Business & Human Rights Resource Centre – called on the Qatari authorities to reveal the location of Malcolm Bidali, a Kenyan human rights activist who writes about his experience of being a security guard in Qatar.

A security guard with GSS Certis, Mr Bidali was taken from his labour accommodation for questioning by state security on the evening of 4 May. The Resource Centre has previously contacted GSS Certis regarding allegations of poor living and quarantine conditions in August 2020 and March 2021, based on Mr Bidali's writing.

On 12 May the authorities confirmed Mr Bidali had been detained but did not disclose his location or whether he had received proper legal assistance.

A woman identifying herself as Mr Bidali's mother, Maggie Turner, told ITV that they still do not have any information about the place where he is being held, if he has received legal assistance or whether the Kenyan Embassy has met Mr Bidali.

GSS Certis International, the security firm where Mr Bidali is employed, has confirmed that it is aware of his detention, yet it did not provide any information regarding the conditions of his arrest. The company told Al Jazeera that any questions regarding Mr Bidali's arrest should be asked to the relevant authorities.

On 19 May, 240 community members from the Qatar Foundation, a non-profit organization made up of more than 50 entities working in education, research and community development wrote to Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, the Foundation's director, expressing concern over Mr Bidali's conditions and demanding his whereabouts. Her Excellency Sheikha Hind replied to the letter indicating that she has been following the case and reached out to the relevant authorities for an update. She has been informed that Mr Bidali is well and is being afforded his rights according to the law. Her Excellency promised to continue active engagement with the authorities on the case.

On 20 May, ITV channel reported that Mr Bidali spoke with his mother over the phone for 10 minutes following an interview with the Kenyan Ambassador in Qatar. Maggie reported that he is unhurt but he is still being held in solitary confinement without legal charges and he has not been afforded access to lawyer or any legal aid yet.

On 20 May, UNI Global Union sent a letter to the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs calling for Mr Bidali's immediate and unconditional release.

A spokesperson for MR told Middle East Eye, on 20 May, that MR has verified a suspicious link that Mr Bidali had received on social media and found it to be malicious. An investigation by Amnesty International and Citizen Lab revealed that Mr Bidali was targeted by a fingerprinting campaign. Shortly before his detention, someone replied to a tweet from Mr Bidali with a link to what appeared to be a HRW video. It is believed that the link could have identified Mr Bidali and his IP address. The investigation has also identified two more domains which may have been used in the same way but was unable to identify who targeted Mr Bidali.

On 21 May, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) requested information on the whereabouts of Mr Bidali and the charges against him. KHRC also called on the Qatari authorities to guarantee Mr Bidali's safety and to ensure that he has access to justice and a fair trial.

We invited GSS Certis and its holding company Temasek to respond to Mr Bidali's detention and asked them to set out how they protect migrant workers exercising their freedom of expression in this way. GSS Certis simply said that they were aware that one of their employees had been detained and questions should be addressed to the Qatari authorities. Temasek said that it was not involved in the governance of its portfolio companies and that we should address questions to GSS Certis. We explained that companies have responsibilities to seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impact under the UN Guiding Principles. It restated its governance structure in response. Full details of these responses are found below.

On 28 May, the above five organisations issued a press statement urging the Qatari authorities to immediately release Mr. Bidali, who appeared to have been detained for the peaceful exercise of his human rights. On 30 May Malcolm was transferred to Qatar's Public Prosecution. He has been officially charged with taking payment from foreign agent to generate disinformation in Qatar.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) has condemn the charges against Malcolm and called on the authorities to drop all of them and to immediately release Malcolm.

MR said in a statement issued on 2 June, that Qatar authorities had released Malcolm from custody. However, charges against him remain.

On 16 August, Malcolm left Qatar. The five NGOs released a statement raising concerns around enjoyment of freedom of expression in Qatar, and called on the Government to reform its judicial processes, amid concerns that Malcolm's treatment stemmed solely from his human rights activism and that his abduction, forced disappearance, detention, interrogation and fine were all carried out without due process.