Headline: Qatar Whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais Arrested in Jordan Ahead of US Testimony
Abdullah Ibhais, known for exposing issues related to Qatar’s 2022 World Cup, has been arrested in Jordan, just two weeks prior to his scheduled testimony in a US District Court. His testimony relates to allegations of forced labor and human trafficking linked to the World Cup.
Ibhais, a Jordanian citizen, previously spent three years in a Doha prison following what Amnesty International label an “unfair trial”. He claimed he was investigating worker rights violations, advocated for labor rights with the Supreme Committee, and faced retaliatory prosecution as a result. His case has been supported by FairSquare, which states that Ibhais provided substantial evidence.
In contrast, Qatar’s narrative centers around Ibhais’s conviction in April 2021 for charges including “bribery” and “intentional damage to public funds.”
Ibhais was released on March 11, 2025, after his five-year sentence was reduced; however, he has now reportedly been “abducted” by the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) in Amman, according to his family’s statements to The Independent.
Scheduled to provide a voluntary deposition in the US on August 20, Ibhais received his visa from the US Embassy in Amman on August 6. He had been subpoenaed by a Colorado court for this deposition.
His family claims that GID officials previously threatened him with imprisonment if he continued to advocate for workers’ rights in Qatar.
Ibhais has also allegedly confronted GID torturers regarding their supposed collaboration with Qatari officials, a claim that went unchallenged by the officers.
Reports indicate that authorities attempted to detain Ibhais in May, searching his residence before departing after receiving a call.
Additionally, his passport was confiscated from May to July this year, an action his family alleges was aimed at preventing his participation in a deposition that was meant to occur virtually at the US Embassy in Norway on May 30.
As a result, he missed a formal meeting in Washington D.C. with Congressman James McGovern, scheduled for June 17. McGovern later extended a renewed invitation, expressing concern over the ongoing confiscation of Ibhais’s passport.
Ibhais was also expected to take part in the Oslo Freedom Forum, organized by the Human Rights Foundation, at the start of June.
Qatar whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais has been arrested in Jordan two weeks before he is scheduled to testify as a witness in a US District Court case concerning allegations of forced labor and human trafficking associated with the 2022 World Cup.
Ibhais, a Jordanian national, spent three years in a Doha jail following what Amnesty International described an “unfair trial”, with his version being that he went to investigate complaints over workers’ rights, stood up for them by advising the Supreme Committee to acknowledge its role, and found himself the subject of a malicious prosecution. FairSquare say Ibhais provided plenty of evidence for his case.
The version from within Qatar points to Ibhais’s April 2021 conviction for “bribery”, “violation of the integrity of tenders and profits” and “intentional damage to public funds”.
He was finally released on 11 March 2025 after his five-year sentence was reduced, but he now finds himself in the subject of law enforcement again after being “abducted” by the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) in the capital city of Amman, his family told The Independent.
Ibhais is due to have a voluntary deposition in the United States on 20 August and received his visa on 6 August at the US Embassy in Amman. He had subpoenaed for the deposition by the Court of Colarado.
His family say that Ibhais has been “threatened with prison before by GID officers, if he insisted to continue his advocacy concerning his case, or concerning the issue of workers conditions in Qatar”.
It’s added Ibhais has previously confronted his GID interrogators over allegedly acting upon a Qatari request, which they never denied or challenged him on.
Forces have allegedly made efforts to arrest Ibhais in May, searching his home before officers were said to have received a phone call and subsequently left the premises.
Abdullah Ibhais spent three years in a Doha jail until his release in March 2025 (Supplied)
Ibhais also had his passport confiscated for two months between May and July this year, which his family alleges was “in order ban him from taking place in the same deposition that was supposed to take place virtually in the US Embassy in Norway, on 30 May 2026”.
He was then unable to make a formal meeting in Washington DC with Massachusetts congressman James McGovern on 17 June, which he had been invited to attend. McGovern sent an updated letter renewing his invitation for Ibhais, which regretted the continued holding of his passport by Jordanian authorities.
Ibhais was also supposed to participate in the Oslo Freedom Forum, organised by the Human Rights Foundation at the beginning of June.
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