Tommy Hilton

DUBAI — Qatari journalist and opposition activist Fahd Bohendi has reportedly died in a prison in Qatar, with a human rights organization saying that he had been tortured.

Human rights organizations have called for an investigation into the case, said the Gulf Association For Rights And Freedoms (GAFHAR) on Tuesday, which alleged that Fahd Bohandi was tortured to death after rebelling against prison officers.

“According to a statement by human rights organizations, the detainee #Fahad_Bohendi, a #Qatari_journalist opposed to the regime, was arbitrarily imprisoned for three years, deprived of the most basic human right inside the prison, and then killed under torture,” wrote GAFHAR on Twitter.

Bohendi, a Qatari who had a degree from the UK’s Teesside University, was reportedly arrested three years ago due to his work as a social media activist.

According to GAFHAR, Bohendi had recently joined a group of fellow prisoners and rebelled against prison guards because they were scared of the spread of coronavirus in the prison. He was transferred to a solitary cell, where he went on hunger strike and was then moved to the Abu Hamour prison.

In Abu Hamour, Bohendi was “beaten, injured, and then died because of torture,” said GAFHAR, adding that authorities buried him in an unknown location without allowing his family to see the body.

GAFHAR quoted the Arab Organization for Human Rights in UK and Europe, the Gulf League for Rights and Freedoms, and the African Organization for Heritage and Human Rights as blaming Qatari authorities for Bohendi’s death.

“The Qatari officials must be held accountable for this crime,” the organization tweeted.

Bohendi was aged 37 and leaves behind a wife and two children.

The Twitter hashtag “Martyr Fahd Bohendi” was trending in both the UAE and Qatar this week after the reports surfaced. — Al Arabiya English