The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it is investigating an incident involving the Charge d'Affaires of Qatar's embassy in the Kingdom of eSwatini, formerly known as the Kingdom of Swaziland, and journalists from the Times of Swaziland newspaper.

The ministry said in a statement on Monday that, as part of this investigation, the Government of the State of Qatar received a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of the Kingdom of eSwatini stating: "We have investigated the allegations that the charge d'affaires detained journalists at the Embassy of Qatar and we found that these allegations are incorrect."

The statement said that the report concluded that "based on this evidence, it is clear that journalists dealt with the charge d'affaires in unprofessional manner, and that the portrayal of events was exaggerated and the matter was described as detention."

It added that "while the report of the Government of the Kingdom of eSwatini confirms that journalists violated the rules of conduct and professionalism during their interview with the charge d'affaires, the Government of the State of Qatar will continue its examination of the incident to determine whether any of the rules and protocols of the State of Qatar related to handling the press have been violated."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it takes the freedom of the press seriously, stressing that "if any violation is found, an appropriate action will be taken."

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