Fifteen Years for a Poem?
from Pressure Points and Middle East Program

Fifteen Years for a Poem?

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In 2011, with the "Arab Spring" under way, a Qatari poet named Mohammed el-Ajami wrote a poem. It contained this line: “We are all Tunisia in the face of the repressive elite.” He has also criticized, apparently in prose, the presence of American forces in Qatar, writing that  “I hope that change will come in countries whose ignorant leaders believe that glory lies in U.S. forces.”

For those "crimes" he was tried in secret in 2012, and given a life sentence for insulting the Emir and inciting the overthrow of the government (the latter a capital offense). That sentence has now been reduced to 15 years, but upheld at that level.

His only hope now is a pardon by the new Emir, Sheik Tamim.  That would be a wonderful move by the new ruler, while failure to make it would affirm the view that freedom of speech is non-existent in Qatar. Fifteen years for a poem?

Qatar is sensitive to its image and its role in the Arab world and beyond, so one can hope that continuing pressure may lead to a pardon. If it does not, one can only hope that those who laud Qatari foreign policy, or glorify Al-Jazeera and the new Al Jazeera America, which the Qatari government owns, or participate in their programs, will find a way to protest.

Al Jazeera America is meant to increase Qatari influence and showcase Qatar as a progressive nation. But we should not forget the poet who has received a fifteen year sentence for the lines he wrote in 2011.

More on:

Middle East and North Africa

Human Rights

Politics and Government

Qatar