UN Report Slams Inadequate Qatari Court Processes

Jane and Martin Weekes, parents of the two-year-old New Zealand triplets killed in the Villaggio Mall fire in Doha, Qatar, on 28 May 2012, say the United Nations Report of the Special Rapporteur has confirmed their concerns about the issues they have faced with the Qatari legal system and the lack of independence of judges and lawyers in Qatar.

The UN report specifically cites the Villaggio fire, highlighting the lack of due process the families, including the Weekes, have faced for the last three years. This continues with the recent announcement of another four-month delay in order to accommodate summer holidays.

The UN Report, prepared after an official visit to Qatar in January 2014, raises concerns about the shortcomings in the Qatari legal system. Those shortcomings are identified as serious, and ones that “negatively affect the independence and impartiality of the justice system, as well as the realization of people’s human rights.” The report focuses on a lack of impartiality and improper behavior of judges, and notable discrimination against non-nationals.

The report recommended Qatar improve its systems, and noted its considerable financial capabilities to do so. It also recommended that human rights mechanism like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights be ratified.

The Weekes have expressed their disappointment that it is this legal system that has allowed their children’s killer, Ali Bin Jasmin Bin Thani Al Thani, to remain as Qatar’s ambassador to the European Union while he appeals his six-year prison sentence.

Mr Al Thani and his co-convicted wife Iman Al Kuwari have not yet served any of their six-year prison sentences, with Mr Al Thani only attending a single hearing since the triplet’s death over three years ago.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key met with HH the Emir in April to discuss the death of the Weekes triplets, with HH the Emir responding that he is “utterly committed to making sure those who are responsible will be held to account.”

“We can only hope that the Qataris take note of this report, because it is this very system that has meant we cannot escape the horrors of 28 May 2012,” Mrs Weekes said from Wellington where she is attending the Sands 2015 National conference. “We know, more than anyone, the inadequacies of this legal system, and the immediate need to change it.”

“We remain very distressed that this system has failed us so far, and that our children’s killers use that system to their own benefit including not even attending court. We are, however, resigned to it for now.”

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