Qatar releases Kenyan activist Malcolm Bidali, charges remain

A Kenyan migrant worker and activist based in Qatar who was detained in the Gulf nation on allegations of violating its security laws has been released. 

A lobby group, Migrant Rights, said in a statement that Qatar authorities released Malcolm Bidali on Wednesday. However, the charges levelled against him will remain.

“Until his release earlier this week, he had received no legal counsel. The charges against him aim only to silence a strong voice drawing attention to the human rights abuses of migrants in the country,” the group said.

Last week, Qatari authorities charged Mr Bidali, 28, with offences related to “payments received by a foreign agent for the creation and distribution of disinformation”.

The government said that his case was transferred to the Public Prosecution office after an investigation and that Mr Bidali was "receiving legal advice and representation ahead of the court date, which has not yet been set". 

He had been held incommunicado for three weeks following his arrest on May 4, which came days after he spoke to human rights organisations on the continued abuse of migrant workers in the Arab country. He was working as a security guard. 

Blogging under the pseudonym Noah, the Kenyan wrote about labour rights issues, including long working hours, low wages, poor working conditions and unsuitable accommodation.

He has been working with various organisations on the rights of migrant workers in Qatar for the past three years.

Rights groups including Amnesty International said in a recent statement that Bidali told his mother in a May 20 phone call that he was being held in solitary confinement and had no access to a lawyer. 

Qatar’s official National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), however, said authorities gave unrestricted access to Mr Bidali and “he was being treated properly”. The agency added that staff from the Kenyan Embassy visited him and that he had contact with his family and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).