Qatar whistleblower prevented from attending Oslo Freedom Forum after passport confiscation in Jordan

This story was first published at Idrettspolitikk.no

Qatari whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais has been prevented from travelling to Norway after Jordanian authorities confiscated his passport following his return from the Nordic Media Days in Bergen, where he spoke about FIFA, Qatar, and media manipulation around the 2022 World Cup.

Ibhais, a former media manager for Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, arrived at the airport in Jordan on 10 May after taking part in the Bergen event from 6–8 May. According to Idrettspolitikk.no, he was then deprived of his passport, most likely following pressure from Qatari authorities.

He has reportedly been told to stop speaking publicly about his imprisonment in Qatar, the treatment of migrant workers, and his criticism of the 2022 World Cup. He has also been urged to withdraw from planned speaking engagements at the Oslo Freedom Forum in early June.

Without his travel documents, Ibhais cannot attend Oslo Freedom Forum 2026. The situation also prevents him from being physically present in Oslo on 30 May, where he was due to participate safely in a legally required virtual witness deposition in a case before a federal court in the United States. The case concerns allegations of forced labour and human trafficking linked to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Human Rights Foundation urges Jordan to act

In a press statement, Javier El-Hage, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation, which is behind the Oslo Freedom Forum, urges Jordanian authorities to comply with international human rights standards.

“We call on Jordan to honor its human rights obligations and ensure that a dedicated human rights defender can freely pursue his case and continue to advocate for marginalized workers,” El-Hage stated. 

“The actions of Jordanian authorities risk turning a diplomatic issue for Qatar into an unnecessary human rights crisis for Jordan. Abdullah Ibhais is a whistleblower who has already endured severe hardship for refusing to compromise the truth,” said El-Hage.

Without his travel documents, Ibhais cannot attend the Oslo Freedom Forum 2026.

Imprisoned after criticising Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers

Abdullah Ibhais was the media manager for Qatar’s World Cup committee and was sentenced to five years in prison, including for treason, after saying that the authorities in Qatar should admit that migrant workers in the country had not been paid and had been mistreated.

While awaiting his appeal hearing, Ibhais was arrested shortly before a scheduled interview with the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, one year before the World Cup in Qatar. He subsequently spent three and a half years in prison before being released in March 2025.

After his release, Ibhais appeared at the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2025 and later spoke at the Play the Game conference in Tampere, Finland, in October 2025. At Play the Game, he gave a detailed account of how Qatar’s World Cup committee sought to influence and manipulate Western media coverage ahead of the 2022 tournament.

In October 2025, Ibhais was seeking legal support for possible lawsuits against FIFA and Qatar’s World Cup organising committee. According to Idrettspolitikk.no, he has now secured that support – a development that appears to have angered Qatari authorities. 

Interrogations focus on Qatar and public criticism

Idrettspolitikk.no and Play the Game has been aware of Ibhais’ situation since shortly after his return from Bergen and has seen correspondence describing what has happened and how he has experienced the pressure from Jordanian authorities.

According to Ibhais, the interrogations have largely focused on his public statements about Qatar and have been conducted in an openly hostile tone.

In one message, he said he had been accused of falsely retracting a signed confession. He was also told that, because he had already served his prison sentence, he should stop taking his complaints to the media. Interrogators allegedly demanded that he stop speaking about Qatar and acknowledge that his case is closed.

A UN report has previously supported Ibhais’ account of his case, finding that he was imprisoned and convicted on false grounds. According to Idrettspolitikk.no, the officers questioning him have dismissed the UN’s conclusions as nonsense.

Allegations of threats and house search

According to Idrettspolitikk.no’s sources, senior figures in the Jordan’s intelligence apparatus have been involved in the interrogations. The questioning has reportedly focused on Ibhais’ work in Qatar, his media appearances, his participation in international conferences, and the relationship between Jordan and Qatar.

Ibhais lives in Jordan, and those questioning him have allegedly argued that his campaign against Qatar could damage relations between the two countries.

During the most recent interrogation, Ibhais was asked to write a summary of what he planned to say at the Oslo Freedom Forum. After seeing the summary, intelligence officers reportedly objected and told him to remove all negative references to Qatar. They are also said to have asked for the names of his contacts at the Human Rights Foundation.

One of the officers allegedly threatened Ibhais by saying he would tear his life to pieces and promised to dig up everything he could in order to destroy his life.

According to the same account, two intelligence teams followed Ibhais home and searched his house for information related to Qatar. During the search, they reportedly stopped abruptly and left without explanation.

Ibhais has still not had his passport returned. According to Idrettspolitikk.no, he does not know his current status with the authorities – whether he is being subjected to an advanced form of harassment or whether there is now an active case against him.

A case with wider implications for sport and human rights

The pressure on Ibhais comes as scrutiny of FIFA, Qatar, and the legacy of the 2022 World Cup continues.

His case illustrates the risks faced by whistleblowers who challenge powerful actors in international sport.

“For Play the Game, Ibhais’ situation is of great concern. It raises fresh questions about whether those who speak out about abuse, exploitation, and governance failures connected to sports can do so without facing retaliation across borders,” says Stanis Elsborg, head of Play the Game.

“His testimony at the 2025 conference in Tampere offered rare first-hand insight into the internal communication strategies behind Qatar’s World Cup project and the treatment of those who questioned official narratives.”

Now, less than a year after that appearance, he is once again being prevented from speaking freely.