Qatar seeks compensation for firms, people over 'siege'
DOHA Qatar yesterday announced it was establishing a committee to pursue compensation claims potentially worth billions of dollars over the country's "blockade" by Gulf states.
Attorney-General Ali Fetais al-Marri said the Compensation Claims Committee will deal with various cases, including those involving major companies such as Qatar Airways and individual Qatari students who have been expelled from the countries where they were studying.
POTENTIAL PLAINTIFFS
"This committee will receive all claims, whether from the public sector, private sector or individuals," Mr Ali said.
Potential plaintiffs will be able to file claims over what Doha has labelled a "siege" in courts at home and abroad, including in Paris and London.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt announced they had cut all ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremists.
The four countries pulled their diplomats from Qatar, suspended all flights to and from Doha, and ordered all Qataris to leave within 14 days.
Qatar has said thousands of its citizens have been affected by the isolation measures in what has emerged as the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the Gulf in recent years.
Doha's National Human Rights Committee last month said the sanctions represented a violation of the rights of some 140 Qatari students studying in the UAE, Saudi and Bahrain.
Qatar Airways has made Doha a global hub in just a few years, but experts say neighbouring Gulf states barring it from their airspace threatens its position as a major transcontinental carrier.
On June 22, the four Arab states issued a 13-point list of demands, including downgrading ties with Iran and shutting down broadcaster Al Jazeera, as a prerequisite to lift the sanctions.
Doha refused to comply with the demands. - AFP
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