Qatar Arrests BBC Journo It Invited

A BBC journalist invited to look at new housing for low-paid migrant workers constructing Qatar’s World Cup stadiums ended up in jail when he tried to do additional reporting outside of the PR tour. Mark Lobel says his crew was arrested on their way to film a group of migrant laborers, then threatened and detained for two nights. “This is not Disneyland,” he recalls an interrogator yelling. “You can’t stick your camera anywhere.” Their equipment was taken away. “Bizarrely, we were allowed to join the organized press trip for which we had come,” he adds—a London-based PR firm showed off worker dorms with swimming pools and welfare officers.