{"id":1650400,"date":"2022-09-21T07:05:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T11:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1650400"},"modified":"2022-09-21T07:06:35","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T11:06:35","slug":"qatar-planning-for-world-cup-fans-to-avoid-prosecution-for-minor-offences-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/qatar-planning-for-world-cup-fans-to-avoid-prosecution-for-minor-offences-sources\/","title":{"rendered":"Qatar planning for World Cup fans to avoid prosecution for minor offences \u2013 Sources"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fqatar-planning-for-world-cup-fans-to-avoid-prosecution-for-minor-offences-sources%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1650400&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>By Andrew  Mills<\/p>\n<p>DOHA (Reuters) \u2013     World Cup fans in Qatar caught committing minor offences such as public drunkenness will escape prosecution under plans being developed by authorities in the conservative Muslim host nation, a diplomat and a person familiar with Qatari briefings to foreign police told Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>While the policing strategy for the competition, which kicks off in less than two months, has yet to be finalised, organisers have told diplomats and police from qualified countries they intend to show flexibility for relatively minor infringements, the sources said.<\/p>\n<p>The signals reflect the delicate balance which Qatar, a tiny Arab state where many follow the same puritanical school of Sunni Islam as in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, is trying to strike between respecting religious traditions and accommodating the raucous exuberance of more than a million visiting soccer fans.<\/p>\n<p>Qatar\u2019s World Cup organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIncreased leniency pleases the international community, but comes with the risk that it might upset conservatives inside the country,\u201d another Western diplomat said. <\/p>\n<p>Organisers have not publicly clarified their approach to policing, and many embassies have warned fans they face punishment for behaviour that would be tolerated elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRemember, while you\u2019re in Qatar, you are subject to local laws,\u201d U.S. diplomat Morgan Cassell said in a YouTube video.<\/p>\n<p>According to Qatar\u2019s legal code, freedom of expression is restricted, homosexuality is illegal and sex outside marriage is outlawed. Public drunkenness can incur a prison sentence of up to six months and some things considered benign elsewhere like public displays of affection or wearing revealing clothes can be grounds for arrest. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cArguing with or insulting others in public could lead to arrest. Activities like protests, religious proselytising, advocacy of atheism and criticism of the government of Qatar or the religion of Islam may be criminally prosecuted here. That applies to your social media posts, too,\u201d Cassell said.<\/p>\n<p>LAWS RELAXED<\/p>\n<p>However organisers already intend to relax Qatar\u2019s strict laws limiting the public sale of alcohol, and will allow beer to be served near stadiums a few hours before matches kick off.<\/p>\n<p>Informally, they have also told police from European countries which have qualified for the tournament and some diplomats in Doha to expect police to show flexibility in enforcing other laws, such as drunkenness or public disorder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMinor offences won\u2019t result in a fine or arrest, but police will be instructed to go to a person and ask him or her to comply\u2026Someone who removes a T-shirt in public will be asked to put his T-shirt back on. There is some sort of tolerance,\u201d said the person familiar with Qatari briefings of several European police sending officers to Qatar.<\/p>\n<p>While Qatari authorities have not confirmed this approach, special legislation taking effect during the tournament gives Qatar\u2019s World Cup security chief \u2013 known as the Gold Commander \u2013 significant leeway in tackling violations of Qatar\u2019s laws.<\/p>\n<p>It says the commander, in coordination with authorities, can take decisions including how to treat \u201cacts in violation of the provisions of the laws in force in the country\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Police plan tougher action when the safety of people or property is under threat, World Cup organisers told diplomats in a briefing a few months ago, several diplomats said. <\/p>\n<p>Fans who commit such acts, like using flares or fireworks which could cause damage, or being involved in a fight \u2013 even where there are no serious injuries \u2013 can expect to face fines and cancellation of their \u2018Hayya card\u2019, the permit to enter Qatar and access stadiums, the source said.<\/p>\n<p>It was not clear whether fans who forfeit their Hayya card would be given a deadline to leave the country, or would be detained for deportation.<\/p>\n<p>Security is just one challenge facing Qatar, the first Middle East country to host a soccer World Cup and the smallest nation to do so. With a population of less than 3 million people, it will host an influx of 1.2 million fans \u2013 an unprecedented challenge for the Gulf Arab state.  <\/p>\n<p>To help the policing effort, organisers have invited each qualified country to send at least four police officers to be on the ground in Qatar during the World Cup, the source with knowledge of policing plans said. <\/p>\n<p>They will be based at a Ministry of Interior command centre and around the capital Doha to advise their Qatari counterparts. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey will police it as they see fit\u2026Our job is to say \u2018This is how we think you should deal with our fans because that\u2019s what gets the best results\u2019,\u201d said Mark Roberts, Chief Constable of the Cheshire police and the UK\u2019s policing lead on soccer. <\/p>\n<p>(This story refiles to fix typo in \u2018Legacy\u2019 in para 4)<\/p>\n<p> (Reporting and Writing by Andrew Mills; Editing by Dominic Evans and William Maclean)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/exclusive-qatar-planning-for\/file-photo-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-stadium-preview\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI8K0CG-BASEIMAGE.jpg\" alt=\"tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI8K0CG-BASEIMAGE\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Andrew Mills DOHA (Reuters) \u2013 World Cup fans in Qatar caught committing minor offences such as public drunkenness will escape prosecution under plans being developed by authorities in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1650400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1650400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1650400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1650400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1650400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1650400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1650400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}