Qatar's death row and the invisible migrant workforce deemed unworthy of due process 19/01/2023, 10:36 It is thought that this is because of foreign states’ interest in maintaining their economic relationships with Gulf countries and that “the remittances sent home by hundreds of thousands of such workers every month may be more important for the country than the protection of an individual citizen at risk of burdening the relations with the host country”. Considerable research has established that foreign nationals are especially vulnerable when facing the death penalty abroad. They face practical barriers such as their inability to speak the language of their interrogators and jailors, being far from their social and economic support networks, and being unaware of their rights in an alien criminal justice system. Under Qatari law, for example, only Qatari lawyers can represent defendants, and thus foreign defendants are not able to hire a lawyer from their own country, who would know their language and be better acquainted with their situation. In Chaudhary’s case, the Nepali Embassy in Doha found this rule to be a major barrier to ensuring he was well-represented, as it was difficult to find a Qatari lawyer who was ready to defend a foreigner accused of killing a Qatari national. After repeated requests from the embassy, a lawyer was found, but only after his sentence had been pronounced, making it much more difficult for any conviction to be overturned at appeal. The types of crimes for which the death penalty is retained as a punishment in the Middle East, as well as Asia, are also by their nature more likely to involve foreign nationals, such as cross-border drug trafficking or terrorism. The issue of the lack of consular notification and the vulnerability of foreign national defendants is apparent across the Gulf. One such tragic example includes the case of a Filipina migrant domestic worker who was executed in 2017, and whose embassy was only made aware of her execution the day before. Likewise, two Bahraini men were sentenced to death for terrorism in Saudi Arabia in 2021, and it is reported that they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment and not appointed a lawyer until after their trial sessions had begun. Their lawyer did not have access to all the relevant documents and information. Conversely, in another case involving a Filipina domestic worker who was sentenced to death in UAE in 2014 after killing her employer in self-defence against sexual assault, she received assistance from her embassy in lodging her appeal and they were instrumental in securing her acquittal in 2017. This example underscores the vital role that consulates can play in assisting their nationals facing a death sentence abroad – if given the opportunity. Migrant worker abuse and the death penalty There has been little death penalty research in the Gulf. But one death penalty expert, Daniel Pascoe, believes it has some of the “most secretive” and “prolific” death penalty jurisdictions in the world. https://theconversation.com/qatars-death-row-and-the-invisible-migrant-workforce-deemed-unworthy-of-due-process-191017 Page 6 of 12