Human Rights Watch said Qatar should allow entry to a man trapped at the border with Saudi Arabia since June 17. Qatari authorities claim the man, Zayed Al-Marri, is a Saudi citizen. But he says he is a Qatari who was stripped of his citizenship and has lived in Saudi Arabia since 1996. Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said, "Qatar should allow the man who has been trapped at the borders with Saudi Arabia for more than two weeks and provide him health care and lodging. She added, "Qatari grievances in the Gulf dispute are no justification for leaving vulnerable people stranded in the desert." The organization called on the Qatari authorities to allow Al-Marri to enter the country. It further called on the authorities to restore his citizenship and rights if they had been withdrawn arbitrarily. Human Rights Watch said Qatar had stripped at least 6,000 members of the Al-Gufran clan, to which Al-Marri belongs, of their Qatari citizenship.
