…Described as the Qatar whistleblower for his revelations about the build-up to the 2022 World Cup, Abdullah Ibhais tells Miguel Delaney he was physically assaulted, kept in complete darkness and denied sleep for 96 hours in freezing temperatures after what he says was a malicious prosecution. Now he is trying to sue both Qatar’s Supreme Committee and football’s governing body Fifa…

… The Jordanian national was finally released on 11 March 2025, having served his full sentence. In July 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions declared he had been a victim of arbitrary detention and urged Qatari authorities to release him immediately.

Human rights groups, such as FairSquare, believe his case serves as a prism for the story of that entire World Cup…

Ibhais’s version is that he went to investigate complaints over workers’ rights, stood up for them by advising the Supreme Committee to acknowledge its role, and found himself the subject of a malicious prosecution…

…The UN working group’s finding that he was a victim of arbitrary detention is also highly significant, especially in light of Fifa’s refusal to comment when contacted by The Independent…

“Fifa should take most of the blame. They knew what they were getting into, but stood by it. … [said Abdullah Ibhais]