Middle Eastern media is reporting that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have recalled their envoys to Qatar, accusing the Qataris of not living up to their security agreements in connection with the prosecution of a Qatari citizen. According to an Al Arabiya report:
March 5 2014 Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday recalled their envoys to Qatar.
In a Saudi Press Agency statement, the three countries said the move was taken to ‘to protect their security and stability.’
The trio also said that Qatar had not ‘committed to the principles’ of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.
A security agreement signed last year by the GCC focused on cooperation in the exchange of information and tracking down of criminals and those who violate the law.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Qatar rights body said it will pursue the release of a citizen who was jailed seven years over links to an Islamist group in an ‘unfair’ UAE ruling, local media reported.
The move came a month after Abu Dhabi summoned the Qatari ambassador to the UAE, Faris al-Nuaimi on Sunday, and gave him a memorandum protesting statements made by the Doha-based religious cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi against the Gulf state.
In recent months, the UAE also jailed a group of 30 Emiratis and Egyptians to terms ranging from three months to five years for forming a Muslim Brotherhood cell.
The Brotherhood is banned in much of the region, and the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pledged billions of dollars in aid to Egypt after the overthrow of Islamist Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi, who hails from the Islamist organization.
The GMBDW reported on Monday that a court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had sentenced thee individuals, including the Qatari citizen mentioned above, to prison terms of up to seven years on various charges relating to aiding and abetting the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE.
The GMBDW has been comprehensively covering the increasing pressure faced by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf countries including:
- The troubles of Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi who has been antagonizing Gulf rulers with his increasingly strident criticisms.
- The trials of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and cadre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- The actions taken by Saudi Arabia of late against the Muslim Brotherhood.
- The increasingly difficult situation faced by the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait.
The Gulf countries have long been significant sources of funding for the Global Muslim Brotherhood in the West so the increasing pressure on the Brotherhood in the Gulf will no doubt have a significant impact in the West as well.