20 members of Qatar ruling family jailed for dissent

Khaleej Times -- The Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, has himself ordered around 20 members of the country's ruling family to be imprisoned for their stand that supports the Gulf Quartet boycotting Qatar and for publicly stating that they are not satisfied with the policy being followed by the Amir and his government, popular French magazine Le Point reported.

"The Amir of Qatar ordered members of his ruling family to be jailed," a French businessman, Jean-Pierre Marongiu, who heads the board of a French company, was quoted as saying in the magazine.

Marongiu said while he was in jail in Doha on charges of issuing dud cheques, he met about 20 members of the Qatar ruling family in prison.

He said he was surprised over his arrest by the Qatari police "to please a Qatari businessman".

The prisoners Marongiu met in jail told him that they had been imprisoned by an order of the Amir for supporting the Gulf Quartet.

He added that the Qatari prisoners asked him to communicate their cause to the outside world after he was released.

They stressed that they were detained because of their differences with the Qatari regime and for backing the stance of the countries boycotting Qatar, particularly Saudi Arabia.

The French businessman stressed that the prisoners suffer from very poor health conditions.

According to the magazine - which contacted the French businessman by telephone - four members of the royal family revealed their names while others preferred not to, as they feared for their lives.

The detained members of the ruling family confirmed that the arrests have doubled since June 5, when the Gulf Quartet boycotted Qatar over its support for terrorists and funding terrorism.