Abdullah Ibhais, a whistleblower regarding Qatar, was apprehended in Jordan just two weeks before he is due to testify in a US District Court case related to allegations of forced labor and human trafficking linked to the 2022 World Cup.
A Jordanian citizen, Ibhais spent three years imprisoned in Doha following what Amnesty International criticized as an “unfair trial.” He asserts that his intention was to investigate workers’ rights issues and that he was unjustly prosecuted after advocating for the Supreme Committee to recognize its responsibilities. FairSquare notes that Ibhais possesses ample evidence to support his claims.
In contrast, Qatari authorities highlight Ibhais’s April 2021 conviction on charges including “bribery,” “violation of the integrity of tenders and profits,” and “intentional damage to public funds.”
Ibhais was finally released on March 11, 2025, when his five-year sentence was reduced. However, he finds himself in legal trouble again after being reportedly “abducted from the mosque” by the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) in Amman, according to his family, who spoke to The Independent.
Reports indicate that Ibhais was arrested in the presence of his two children. His family claims there was no arrest warrant and that no lawyer has been permitted to communicate with him.
Ibhais is set to give a voluntary deposition in the United States on August 20, having obtained his visa on August 6 at the US Embassy in Amman. He was subpoenaed for this deposition by a Colorado court.
His family reports that Ibhais has previously faced threats of imprisonment from GID officers if he continued his advocacy regarding his case or the conditions of workers in Qatar.
Furthermore, Ibhais has confronted GID interrogators, alleging that they acted at the behest of Qatar; they have not denied or countered these accusations.
There were also allegations that forces attempted to arrest Ibhais in May, searching his home before leaving after receiving a phone call.
Abdullah Ibhais spent three years in a Doha jail until his release in March 2025 (Supplied)
Additionally, Ibhais had his passport confiscated for two months between May and July this year, a situation his family claims was designed to prevent him from participating in a deposition intended to take place virtually at the US Embassy in Norway on May 30, 2026.
This restriction also impeded him from attending a meeting in Washington DC with Congressman James McGovern on June 17, to which he had been invited. McGovern expressed his regret over Ibhais’s ongoing passport issues in a subsequent letter reiterating the invitation.
Ibhais was also expected to take part in the Oslo Freedom Forum organized by the Human Rights Foundation at the beginning of June.