DUBAI (Reuters) – Malcolm Bidali, a Kenyan man who has written about migrant rights in Qatar, has been allowed to leave the Gulf Arab state after being detained on charges of receiving payment to spread disinformation, a rights group said.
Bidali, a security guard and blogger who was arrested in early May, left Qatar on Monday after paying “a hefty fine”, Migrant-Rights.org said in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
A source with knowledge of the case confirmed to Reuters that the charges against the Kenyan, who had been writing under a pseudonym, had been dropped.
The public prosecutor had charged Bidali with offences related to payments received by a foreign agent to create and distribute disinformation, but rights groups voiced concern his detention may have been a reprisal for human rights work.
Migrant-Rights.org, which in June reported that Bidali was released from custody, said in its Twitter post that it would later issue a detailed statement.
Qatari authorities did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
Qatar, a small but wealthy nation where foreigners make up the majority of the population, has faced international scrutiny over the treatment of blue collar workers ever since it won the rights to host the 2022 soccer World Cup.
It has introduced several labour reforms to address some of the concerns, including raising the minimum wage and removing obstacles to workers changing employers.
(Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
