Qatar’s hereditary emir holds all executive and legislative authority and ultimately controls the judiciary. Political parties are not permitted, and public participation in the political arena is extremely limited. While Qatari citizens are among the wealthiest in the world, most of the population consists of noncitizens with no political rights, few civil liberties, and limited access to economic opportunity.

• In January, a court sentenced Ali Sherif al-Emadi, a former finance minister, to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of bribery, money laundering, misuse of public funds, and abuse of position. One of his codefendants, Sheikh Nawaf bin Jassim al-Thani, a brother of a former prime minister and member of the ruling family, was sentenced to six years in prison after he was found guilty of misusing public funds.
• The Indian government announced in February that Qatari authorities had released eight former Indian naval officers who had been detained in 2022 on charges of spying on behalf of Israel. They had been sentenced to death in October 2023, then had their sentences commuted to terms of imprisonment that December.
• In July, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais, a former media manager for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organizing committee, had been arbitrarily detained and was denied his right to a fair trial after he raised concerns over the treatment of migrants working on construction projects linked to the global soccer tournament. Ibhais, a Jordanian citizen, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2021.
• A series of amendments to the 2004 penal code were enacted in October, criminalizing certain new offenses and setting stronger penalties for some existing crimes. Among other changes, the revised code set a penalty of up to three years in prison for illegally entering or exiting the country, or for assisting others who commit such an offense.
• In November, Qatari referendum voters approved constitutional amendments that ended the election of 30 of the 45 members of the Shura Council after just one cycle in 2021, reverting to a system whereby the entire legislative body would be appointed by the emir. The Interior Ministry, which managed the referendum, reported that nearly 91 percent of those voting approved the proposed changes, with a turnout of 84 percent among eligible citizens. Among other revisions, the amendments permitted all Qatari citizens to be appointed to the Shura Council rather than just “native” or “original” citizens whose families had settled in Qatar before 1930. Unlike the terminated Shura Council elections, balloting for Qatar’s Central Municipal Council was expected to continue.

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For additional background information, see last year’s full report.