A journalist threatened live by Qatari security: “They want to break our cameras”

No doubt, Qatar 2022 It will be a World Cup different from the others. And it’s already starting to live, even when there are four days left before the inaugural match between the local team and Ecuador. The enormous cultural differences compared to other parts of the world impose limits on experiencing the preview of this World Cup as one normally would.

Even journalists feel it, with restrictions on their work, and those who have experienced it firsthand have been Rasmus Tantholdt, of the Danish channel TV2, which was broadcast in a tourist area and He was reprimanded live by three men who approached his post.

The image that quickly went viral on social media shows Tantholdt broadcasting from a public venue in Doha for a news broadcast, in full communication with the driver who was in Odense, Denmark. Suddenly, three men in traditional Qatari dress crossed behind him and one of them started covering the camera to prevent him from filming there.

“You invited everyone here, why can’t we film? We don’t need permission to be here.”were some of the reporter’s first words, as the men continued with this act of censure, even when he showed them his accredited media credentials.

“You’re going to break the camera, do you want to break it? They threaten to break the camera, they threaten to break the camera”, Tanholdt continued, far from retreating from the situation. In this regard, the channel confirmed on its website the serious threats received, “despite the fact that the TV2 team has obtained the correct accreditations and has denounced from a public place”.

This fact soon went around the world and, hours later, The World Cup Organizing Committee has publicly apologized about what happened and spoke of “an interruption by mistake”.

Restrictions for journalists in Qatar

• International TV network crews traveling to Qatar for World Cup coverage are prohibited from interviewing people in their own homes, as this could have a “serious chilling effect” on media coverage.
• Filming in reception locations, such as those hosting migrant workers, is prohibited under the terms of filming permits issued by the Qatari government.
• Registration in government buildings, universities, places of worship and hospitals, as well as residential properties and private commercial businesses, is also prohibited.
• The restrictions are included in a list of conditions that media outlets must agree to when applying for accreditation. They also apply to photographers.