Source: https://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Qatar
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 05:02:16+00:00

Document:
U.S. Dept. of State, Background Note: Qatar, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5437.htm, Jan. 29, 2010.
 Amnesty International, Death Penalty News: March 2001, p. 6, ACT 53/002/2001, Mar. 2001; Hands Off Cain, Qatar: Murder, Offenses Against the State, Drug Offenses and Terrorism are Capital Crimes, http://www.handsoffcain.info/news/index.php?iddocumento=10001822, Jan. 1, 2008; The Hindu, Indian Executed in Qatar, Mar. 11, 2003 Mobin Pandit & Arh Khalifa, Lija Killer to Face Firing Squad, The Peninsula, Sep. 19, 2002.
 Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, art. 342, Law No. 23 of 2004; Qatar Penal Code, art. 59, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Amnesty International, Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, p. 3, MDE 22/001/2009, Sep. 1, 2009; Amnesty International, Death Penalty News: March 2001, p. 6, ACT 53/002/2001, Mar. 2001; Hands Off Cain, Qatar: Murder, Offenses Against the State, Drug Offenses and Terrorism are Capital Crimes, http://www.handsoffcain.info/news/index.php?iddocumento=10001822, Jan. 1, 2008; The Hindu, Indian Executed in Qatar, Mar. 11, 2003; Mobin Pandit & Arh Khalifa, Lija Killer to Face Firing Squad, The Peninsula, Sep. 19, 2002.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Qatar, para. 86(12), U.N. Doc. A/HRC/14/2, Mar. 15, 2010.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 1, Law No. 2 of 2004.
2003. Although a search of Amnesty reports does not confirm any execution since 2000, multiple sources confirm that an appeals court in Qatar confirmed the death sentence of a man who was then executed by firing squad on March 10, 2003 for a 2001 murder; Hands Off Cain indicates that this was the most recent execution in Qatar as of early 2008.  Amnesty International has reported no executions in 2008 and 2009 and reports that executions in Qatar are “rare.”  We have found no reports of executions after 2003.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2009, generally, ACT 50/001/2010, Mar. 30, 2010.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2008, generally, ACT 50/003/2009, Mar. 24, 2009.
 Amnesty International, Death Penalty News: March 2001, p. 6, ACT 53/002/2001, Mar. 2001; Hands Off Cain, Qatar: Murder, Offenses Against the State, Drug Offenses and Terrorism are Capital Crimes, http://www.handsoffcain.info/news/index.php?iddocumento=10001822, Jan. 1, 2008; The Hindu, Indian Executed in Qatar, Mar. 11, 2010; Mobin Pandit & Arh Khalifa, Lija Killer to Face Firing Squad, The Peninsula, Sep. 19, 2002.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2008, generally, ACT 50/003/2009, Mar. 24, 2009; Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2009, generally, ACT 50/001/2010, Mar. 30, 2010; Amnesty International, Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, p. 3, MDE 22/001/2009, Sep. 1, 2009.
Additionally, Article 1 of the Penal Code provides that for hadd and qesas offenses, Islamic Shari’a applies if the suspect or victim is a Muslim.  Thus, adultery and hirabah (highway robbery) resulting in death carry the mandatory death penalty as hadd, and murder is punished by death unless the victim’s family pardons the offender (either for blood money or as an act of forgiveness).  Such a death penalty is mandatory by international standards because a court cannot independently determine to exercise discretion during sentencing.
Offenses such as adultery involving Muslims could carry the mandatory death penalty if extreme evidentiary requirements are met, but the court’s discretion in avoiding a factual finding that would require the death penalty might be considered sufficient to render this penalty discretionary.  We did not find reports of its recent application, or of other hadd offenses indicated by Article 1.
The government’s unofficial translation of the Penal Code is at times unclear.
According to Amnesty International, there were no executions in 2008  and 2009;  we found no reports of executions in 2010.
Qatar’s Penal Code prohibits the execution of individuals for crimes committed while under the age of 18,  and Qatar has ratified the Covenant on the Rights of the Child (with reservations to unrelated provisions),  which prohibits that practice.
Under Qatar’s Criminal Procedure Code, pregnant women cannot be executed until after delivery.  Qatar has ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights,  which prohibits that practice.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 300-301, Law No. 11 of 2004; Qatar Law To Control Narcotic Drugs and Dangerous Psychotropic Substances and to Regulate Their Use and Trade Therein, art. 52, No. 9 of 1987.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 300-301, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 1, 300-302, Law No. 11 of 2004; Cherif Bassiouni, Crimes and the Criminal Process, p. 282-283, Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1997.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 1, Law No. 11 of 2004; Cherif Bassiouni, Crimes and the Criminal Process, p. 279-280, Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1997.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 235, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 159, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 318, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 173, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Law To Control Narcotic Drugs and Dangerous Psychotropic Substances and to Regulate Their Use and Trade Therein, art. 52, No. 9 of 1987.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 244, 245, 250, 252, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Law On Combating Terrorism, arts. 1-2, 11, No. 3 of 2004.
 Qatar Law On Combating Terrorism, arts. 1-2, No. 3 of 2004.
 Qatar Law On Combating Terrorism, arts. 3, 6, No. 3 of 2004.
 Qatar Law On Combating Terrorism, art. 7, No. 3 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 279, 280, 283, 284, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 279, 280, 283, 284, 289, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Law To Control Narcotic Drugs and Dangerous Psychotropic Substances and to Regulate Their Use and Trade Therein, art. 34, No. 9 of 1987.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 352, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 98-103, 105, 109-111, 118, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 107, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 130-132, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 135, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 103, 109-111, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 92, Law No. 11 of 2004; Qatar Law On Combating Terrorism, arts. 1-2, No. 3 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 1, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 1, 300-301, Law No. 11 of 2004; Cherif Bassiouni, Crimes and the Criminal Process, p. 282-283, Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1997.
 Qatar Penal Code, arts. 1, 92, 300, 302, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 1, Law No. 11 of 2004; Cherif Bassiouni, Crimes and the Criminal Process, p. 282-283, Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1997.
 Qatar Law On Combating Terrorism, arts. 1-2, 11, No. 3 of 2004; Qatar Penal Code, art. 92(4), Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Law On Combating Terrorism, arts. 1-2, No. 3 of 2004; Qatar Penal Code, art. 92(4), Law No. 11 of 2004.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 1, Law No. 11 of 2004; Cherif Bassiouni, Crimes and the Criminal Process, p. 280, Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1997.
 Qatar Penal Code, art. 20, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, National Report Submitted in Accordance with Paragraph 15(a) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1: State of Qatar, sec. 4.5.3, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/7/QAT/1, Nov. 19, 2009.
 Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, art. 345, Law No. 23 of 2004.
 Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar, art. 6, 2004, translated by: Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007 (stating that Qatar shall respect and implement its obligations under international agreements, charters and conventions).
 Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, art. 375, Law No. 23 of 2004.
The scope of the death penalty has been somewhat better defined in Qatar over the last several decades; while the scope may have been recently enlarged, execution of death sentences remains rare. Over the last several decades, Qatar has instituted a permanent Constitution, codified its penal law and criminal procedure code with provisions protecting the rights of the accused and continued to enter international human rights treaties;  these represent significant changes at least in that they legally define the scope of the death penalty. Additionally, over the last decade Qatar has unified its courts into one Sharia-influenced secular system,  which should render jurisprudence more predictable and unified than is possible in a dualistic system. In 2008, Qatar instituted a Constitutional Court that hears appeals on constitutional questions;  this plausibly will improve the protection of constitutional rights related to application of the death penalty (such as the right to a fair trial and the prohibition of tortured confessions, over which Amnesty International has expressed concern in the past).  On the other hand, laws passed in 2004 created a mandatory death penalty for vaguely defined terrorist offenses.  Executions of death sentences have been extremely rare in Qatar over the past three decades,  so in terms of carrying out death sentences, there have been no major changes.
The Supreme Judiciary Council is building an Arabic and English website at: http://www.sjc.gov.qa/arabic/intro.html. We have not determined whether judicial decisions of the courts will ultimately be available through this resource.
NYU Law’s GlobaLex program maintains a page on Qatar’s legal system, including suggested research tools, at: http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Qatar.htm. This resource may provide notification as new resources for researching the decisions of Qatar’s courts become available.
Beyond this mandatory review process, individuals may also apply to the Court of Cassation for fact-based reconsideration if (among other factors) there are new facts supporting their innocence or new facts that could lead to mitigation; execution of a death sentence is stayed upon a request for reconsideration.  Also, Pursuant to Article 140 of the Constitution, Qatar enacted Law No. 12 of 2008 establishing a Constitutional Court.  While our access to the law or a full description is lacking, what we do know suggests that individuals may file interlocutory appeals with the Constitutional Court on constitutional questions involved in their cases.
The U.S. Department of State reports that high filing fees (from $360 to $5,500) restrict the right to appeal at all levels;  the fact that Qatar requires its prosecutors to initiate appeals for capital defendants suggests that capital defendants do not face this restriction.
 Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar, art. 36, 2004, translated by: Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007.
 Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar, art. 6, 2004, translated by: Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, National Report Submitted in Accordance with Paragraph 15(a) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1: State of Qatar, secs. 4.5.1-4.5.3, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/7/QAT/1, Nov. 19, 2009.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Qatar, Denial of Fair Public Trial, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136078.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar, art. 140, 2004, translated by: Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007; U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, National Report Submitted in Accordance with Paragraph 15(a) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1: State of Qatar, secs. 4.5.1-4.5.3, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/7/QAT/1, Nov. 19, 2009; U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Qatar, Denial of Fair Public Trial, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136078.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Amnesty International, Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, p. 3, MDE 22/001/2009, Sep. 1, 2009.
 Amnesty International, Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, p. 3, MDE 22/001/2009, Sep. 1, 2009; Amnesty International, Death Penalty News: March 2001, p. 6, ACT 53/002/2001, Mar. 2001; Hands Off Cain, Qatar: Murder, Offenses Against the State, Drug Offenses and Terrorism are Capital Crimes, http://www.handsoffcain.info/news/index.php?iddocumento=10001822, Jan. 1, 2008; Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2008, generally, ACT 50/003/2009, Mar. 24, 2009; Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2009, generally, ACT 50/001/2010, Mar. 30, 2010.
 Amnesty International, Death Penalty News: March 2001, p. 6, ACT 53/002/2001, Mar. 2001; Amnesty International, Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, p. 3, MDE 22/001/2009, Sep. 1, 2009; Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2009, generally, ACT 50/001/2010, Mar. 30, 2010; U.N.G.A., 63rd Session, Note Verbale dated 10 February 2009, U.N. Doc. A/63/716, Feb. 12, 2009.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Summary Prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in Accordance with Paragraph 15(c) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1: Qatar, paras. 10-12, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/7/QAT/3, Nov. 24, 2009.
 Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar, art. 140, 2004, translated by: Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007; U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, National Report Submitted in Accordance with Paragraph 15(a) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1: State of Qatar, sec. 4.5.2, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/7/QAT/1, Nov. 19, 2009; U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Qatar, Denial of Fair Public Trial, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136078.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, art. 340, 375, Law No. 23 of 2004; Qatar Penal Code, art. 58, Law No. 11 of 2004.
 For limited support, see Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, art. 345, Law No. 23 of 2004.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Qatar, Arbitrary Arrest or Detention, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136078.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, Law No. 23 of 2004.
 Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, arts. 240, 241, 273, 283, 288, 290, 302, Law No. 23 of 2004.
 Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, arts. 304, 311, Law No. 23 of 2004.
Human rights organizations have questioned the Emir’s potential to interfere with the judiciary by removing judges, deporting foreign nationals, and withdrawing Qatari citizenship.  The U.S. Department of State confirms that the judiciary is susceptible to interference, particularly because a majority of judges in Qatar are foreign nationals who can be easily deported; however, the Emir has not exercised his power to remove a judge.  Our evaluation is that while the Emir’s discretion is commendable and the judiciary is probably independent, the existence of broad-ranging powers to remove judges diminishes the independence of any judiciary.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Qatar, Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136078.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Qatar, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136078.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Mark Warren, Foreigners Under Sentence of Death Worldwide, http://users.xplornet.com/~mwarren/world.html, May 7, 2010; Prabhakar Ghmire, Fund to Save Nepali Workers on Death Row Abroad, Republica, http://www.myrepublica.com/~myrepub/portal/index.php?action=news_details≠ws_id=7847, Jul. 25, 2009.
 Prabhakar Ghmire, Fund to Save Nepali Workers on Death Row Abroad, Republica, http://www.myrepublica.com/~myrepub/portal/index.php?action=news_details≠ws_id=7847, Jul. 25, 2009.
 Qatar Criminal Procedure Code, arts. 221-223, Law No. 23 of 2004.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Summary Prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in Accordance with Paragraph 15(c) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1: Qatar, paras. 26-32, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/7/QAT/3, Nov. 24, 2009.
 U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Committee Against Torture, Consideration of Reports Submitted by State Parties Under Article 19 of the Convention, Conclusions and Recommendations of the Committee Against Torture: Qatar, U.N. Doc. CAT/C/QAT/CO/1, Jul. 25, 2006.
While Qatar has recently expressed interest in ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it has not yet done so.  Thus, the Human Rights Committee does not review human rights practices in Qatar for compliance with the Covenant.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Qatar, para. 83(37), U.N. Doc. A/HRC/14/2, Mar. 15, 2010.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Qatar, para. 86(7-12), U.N. Doc. A/HRC/14/2, Mar. 15, 2010.

References: art. 342
 art. 59
 art. 1
 art. 52
 art. 1
 art. 235
 art. 159
 art. 173
 art. 52
 art. 7
 art. 34
 art. 352
 art. 107
 art. 135
 art. 92
 art. 1
 art. 1
 art. 92
 art. 92
 art. 1
 art. 20
 art. 345
 art. 6
 art. 375
 art. 36
 art. 6
 art. 140
 art. 140
 art. 340
 art. 58
 art. 345