The Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants (BCSM) has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the four Bangladeshi fishermen detained in Qatar.
The platform of 19 civil society organizations expressed deep concerns on the arrest of four Bangladeshi fishermen by Qatari authorities and their sentencing of three months’ imprisonment with hefty fines and deportation to Bangladesh, said a press release on Thursday.
Professional Fishermen Society (FPS) of Bahrain and BHRWS also urged the Qatari government to release the workers.
BHRWS confirmed that at the time of their arrest, the Bangladeshi expats were fishing in the water of Bahrain territory.
It was also alleged that Qatar has endangered the health of these detained men as Covid-19 has already been detected in the country’s central prison.
It is also disturbing to note that while several Bahraini nationals, who were detained for the same offence, were released by the Qatar authorities; the Bangladeshi nationals were detained, prosecuted, and imprisoned.
Earlier, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued reports about the misery of Asian workers in Qatar and the Covid-19 outbreak in the prison.
“Unfortunately, to the best of our knowledge Bangladesh embassy in Doha is yet to make headway in securing their release,” BCSM also mentioned in its press release.
As these fishermen did not get a fair trial as alleged by BHRWS, the BCSM is demanding their immediate and unconditional release.
“We find atari authorities’ discrimination in their treatment between Bahraini and Bangladeshi nationals unacceptable. We urge Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry to take immediate steps to ensure that these workers are released by Qatar,” it added.
