Qatari officers threaten to DESTROY a Danish reporter’s digital camera whereas he’s LIVE on TV

The Qatar Supreme Committee has rushed to difficulty an apology to Danish broadcaster TV2 after one in all their journalists was threatened by safety employees whereas reside on air.  

Reporting from Qatar days earlier than the opening match of the FIFA World Cup, TV2 reporter Rasmus Tantholdt was talking as a part of a reside broadcast when he was approached by safety employees that had appeared on a golf buggy. 

It shortly turned obvious that he was not welcome to movie and he was shortly threatened with having his digital camera smashed and destroyed. 

The clip, which has gone viral throughout social media, confirmed Tantholdt switching to English to ask for clarifications on the place he was allegedly misconstruing any guidelines on filming in Qatar. 

‘You have got invited the entire world right here. Why cannot we movie? It’s a public place,’ he mentioned. 

He shortly introduced his press accreditation on his cellphone, reaffirming their permissions to movie however as one man grapples with the lens of the digital camera, a safety guard claims the digital camera will likely be destroyed if they don’t cease filming.

The Danes present their press accreditation and say they’ve permission to movie. Then the guards observe up with a menace. If they do not cease filming, they’ll destroy the digital camera.

‘You may break the digital camera,’ he added. ‘You wish to break it? Go forward. You are threatening us by breaking the digital camera.’

Safety officers took difficulty with him filming and shortly threatening to destroy his digital camera

A safety guard tries to elucidate that he’s unable to movie, regardless of his accreditation go

Talking from Qatar to Norwegian outlet NRK, Tantholdt confirmed he had since been given an apology by delegates in Qatar however the truth he was stopped throughout a reside broadcast raises quite a lot of issues for him.

‘I do not suppose the message from the highest in Qatar has reached all the safety guards,’ he was quoted as saying. 

‘Subsequently, one can argue that there are some who’ve misunderstood the state of affairs, however on the similar time it tells lots about what it’s like in Qatar. There it’s which you can be attacked and threatened whenever you report as a free media.’

‘This isn’t a free and democratic nation,’ he added. ‘My expertise after visiting 110 nations on the earth is: The extra you need to conceal, the tougher it’s to report from there.’

Qatari officers (pictured) arrived on a golf buggy whereas the reside broadcast was happening 

Tantholdt seen displaying his press accreditation earlier than claiming he doesn’t want a allow

Qatar has been closely criticised and scrutinised over human rights violations and its attitudes in the direction of the LGBTQ+ group because it was handed the rights to the 2022 World Cup 12 years in the past.

Additionally it is not the primary time reporters have had points attempting to report freely and brazenly in Qatar. 

Norwegian outlet NRK endured their very own points when reporting from Qatar final yr.

Two of their journalists, Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani, have been arrested and subsequently have been imprisoned in Qatar over claims that the pair had been filming on non-public land.

They have been held for round 30 hours earlier than they have been launched and despatched again to Norway.

Again in November final yr, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre described the therapy of reporters within the Gulf State as ‘unacceptable’. 

‘A free press is essential to a functioning democracy,’ he added. 

It seems there are nonetheless issues for reporters simply days out from the beginning of the match. 

Qatari’s Supreme Committee later issued an apology after the clip went viral on social media

American author Grant Wahl had his personal run-in with safety employees having been informed to delete a photograph he had taken within the media centre.

Detailing the story on his Twitter account, Wahl wrote: ‘I took an image of the Qatar World Cup slogan on the wall of the media heart at the moment – and a safety guard came visiting and demanded that I delete it from my cellphone. Is that how this World Cup goes to work?’

He was informed {that a} ‘image just isn’t allowed’ earlier than he protested that he was merely taking a photograph. 

‘Kindly delete it, sir,’ got here the reply. 

The World Cup will get underway on Sunday when hosts Qatar face Ecuador.