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BBC World Service

What Qatar doesn’t want you to know about the 2022 World Cup

Kai Ryssdal May 18, 2015
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BBC World Service

What Qatar doesn’t want you to know about the 2022 World Cup

Kai Ryssdal May 18, 2015
HTML EMBED:
COPY

BBC journalist Mark Lobel and his team recently traveled to Qatar at the invitation of the country’s prime minister.

Lobel was invited to go on a tour of new and improved migrant worker facilities that would address Qatar’s reputation of laborer mistreatment. With Qatar getting ready to host the 2022 World Cup, there’s been an influx of migrant workers to house.  

But Lobel quickly found that he would not be allowed to complete a balanced report of Qatari labor camps.

 “Eight cars drove us off the street, and we were taken in by intelligence officers, treated like spies if you like,” Lobel says.

After two nights in jail, Lobel was released. But he says he worries about what this will mean for future World Cup coverage.

“The fact that we were dealt with by security officers is the beginning of what I think could be a very worrying trend,” says Lobel.  

Listen to the full interview by clicking play on the media player above.

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