A member in the International Human Rights Monitoring Mission, Dr Francois Deroche, has said that the siege on Qatar is a flagrant violation of human rights, stressing that Qatar won against the siege by steadfastness of its people.
In an interview with Arrayah newspaper published yesterday, Deroche advised the siege countries to retract their actions against Qatar.
He also expressed surprise that countries that do not respect human rights and freedom, claim fighting terrorism and provide a definition of terrorism for political purposes to suppress dissent.
Deroche said that the Monitoring Mission has met a number of humanitarian cases affected by the siege in Qatar and noted the suffering the victims are being subjected.
He said that he had met children with mental disabilities suffering from the siege by forcibly separating them from their parents.
“There are diseases directly related to anxiety and frustration and worsen with psychological pressure, which is against morality, humanity and justice.”
He stressed that the “International Conference on Freedom of Expression: Towards Confronting Risk” held in Doha was very important because it addressed a very serious issue, namely the execution of the only hope in the Arab world, referring to the demand of the siege countries to close Al Jazeera channel which is the great hope for the people and the voices that want to express themselves.
Deroche warned that if hope is silenced, it is a great calamity and the opposite is the wider spread of despair, extremism and violence in this region.
“Al Jazeera is one of the few media outlets that give information objectively, and we must do everything in our power to maintain that hope, otherwise, the fate of the Arab world, may face more serious difficulties and challenges.”
He explained that Al Jazeera is neither a state nor a political party, but it is a means of media that should give everyone a chance to speak and express opinions, emphasising that the most difficult thing is repression and even the extremist must have the opportunity to speak and express views in words instead of bullets.
Deroche called on all intellectuals and the people of the free world to stand up against these practices and those rulers who want to silence the free media platforms, describing these rulers as a cancer spreading in the region.
The sun rises and no one can extinguish its light, he said, adding that admitting the guilt is the half of the truth and the time is right for the siege countries to return to the right path before this crisis is over.
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