According to BBC, their journalists were “invited to Qatar by the prime minister’s office to see new flagship accommodation for low-paid migrant workers in early May – but while gathering additional material for our report, we ended up being thrown into prison for doing our jobs.”
Their equipment was taken away, and they were quizzed about who they had spoken with – and were advised by police that this was “a matter of national security.” They were jailed for four days.
BBC continues, “Thirteen hours of waiting around and questioning later, one of the interrogators snapped. “This is not Disneyland- You can’t stick your camera anywhere.”
Portland Communications is paid $150,000 for this assignment, which reportedly “…includes media outreach, event management, research, policymaker/influencer meetings and event management.”
Israel has accused Qatar of funding Hamas, and as Odwyers has reported, “Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recalled their ambassadors from Qatar to protest its support of terror organizations.” Portland is headed by Tim Allan, a former adviser to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Director of Communications at BSkyB.