Call for joint efforts to to combat cyber crime and sports betting

A seminar by Institute of Criminal Studies yesterday underscored the need to combat cyber crime and sports betting. The five-day event is being organised in co-operation with Public Prosecution and French National School for the Judiciary.
While addressing the opening session, HE the Attorney-General Dr Ali bin Fetais al-Marri stressed the importance of the event by saying it deals with cyber crime which is one of the most alarming issues.
“Every country is vulnerable to cyber crimes due to the high dependence on modern technology and electronic systems that have become the target of piracy, infiltration, and cross-border crimes,” he observed while urging that joint efforts to combat the threat are the need |of the hour.
He said the seminar is a part of the activities and events, carried out by the Public Prosecution in co-operation with the French Ministry of Justice since 2015.
Al-Marri, who said the co-operation is not a latest development, reminisced that the first justice conference in the Arab world held in 2004 in Doha was attended by Arab justice ministers and the then French Justice Minister Dominique Perben.
“We later signed two judicial co-operation agreements with France. The first, in 2015, was in sports event management while the second was signed in March this year in the field of combating cyber crime and terrorism,” he said.
Al-Marri explained these agreements are aimed at ensuring exchange of the best expertise and techniques to combat cyber crime.
He highlighted the need to respond to cyber crime and keep pace with the virtual world in which all types of criminal activities are practised. “It’s high time we lay the foundations for dealing with cyber crime and confront the
perpetrators,” he said.
French ambassador Franck Gellet, while addressing the opening session, said the legal and judicial co-operation between France and Qatar has witnessed great progress in recent years.
The relations between the two countries and cooperation in all fields including Qatar’s hosting of 2022 FIFA World Cup are becoming strong.
“Joint expertise and efforts are very important, especially at a time when cyber crimes are turning out to be issues that demand close co-operation,” he said laying stress on the need for close co-operation between Qatar and France in the field of justice.
Pointing out that France has long experience in hosting major sporting events, the ambassador said such events always need preparations. “Co-operation between the two countries will help both get benefits by sharing experiences,” he said.
Head of the Institute of criminal Studies Dr Hamad Mohamed al-Nuaimi said the ongoing cyber crime seminar is the sixth training activity and it is being held as part of the major sports events course that started in 2015.
Dr al-Nuaimi pointed out that since its inception, the course included several activities like risk management assessment, judicial environment for major international sporting events and World Cup-related bets, reference to judicial experience during the 2016 European games, cyber crime and counterfeiting, media management, crisis management, crime management, criminal assistance, collective accident management and international
co-operation.
Ten members of the Public Prosecution are participating in the course which will come to an end in October in France, he added.