Abd Al-Rahman al-Nuaimi

Abd Al-Rahman al-Nuaimi or Abderrahman Al Nuaimi (born 1954)[1] is a Qatari human rights advocate and co-founder of the Alkarama human rights NGO. He previously taught Islamic Studies at Qatar University, and once served as President of the Qatar Football Association,[2] as well as having been a board member of Qatar Islamic Bank.[3][4] He has been accused of being “one of the world’s most prolific terrorist financiers.”[5]

This article is about the Qatari human rights advocate. For the Bahraini Leftist leader, see Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi.

Political views

Al-Nuaimi was a staunch critic of the domestic policies of the former Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa. In 1998, he circulated a letter condemning the emir's decisions to enfranchise women and to allow the sale of alcohol, as well as other policies which he described as being contrary to Islamic tradition.[6][7] The letter was published in local newspapers and was signed by twelve other men, three of whom were members of the ruling family. He was detained without charge the same year, prompting protests in Britain by Islamic activists. He was released in 2001.[6]

Teaching career

Abd Al-Rahman al-Nuaimi was a history professor at Qatar University until 2009. Gulf News reported that al-Nuaimi was “promoting Brotherhood ideals” and encouraged the Qatari Consultative Council to oppose co-education at the Qatar University.[8]

Qatar Football Association

Al-Nuaimi previously served as the president of the Qatar Football Association.[9]

Human rights advocacy and NGO associations

In 2004, al-Nuaimi co-founded Alkarama, a Geneva-based human rights organization.[10] Its mission is to “assist all those in the Arab World subjected to or at risk of extra-judicial executions, disappearances, torture and arbitrary detention,” by connecting them with “international human rights mechanisms.”[11] Alkarama has worked with United Nations human rights bodies including the Committee Against Torture and the Human Rights Committee, as well as prominent international human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.[10][12][13] Although he denied the accusations leveled against him, he resigned as president of Alkarama in July 2014 after being named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States Department of the Treasury.[13][14]

Alkarama was first registered as a foundation in 2007 with al-Nuaimi as president and Qatari-national Sultan Khlaifa al-Khulaifi as Member/Secretary General.[15] In August 2009, Qatari businessman and Director General of the al-Furqan Schools, Khalifa Mohammad al-Rabban, was named President of Alkarama.[15]

Al-Nuaimi is also listed as the Secretary-General of the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign (GAAC) where Khalifa Mohammad al-Rabban is a member.[16] The Executive Director of GAAC, Rabih Haddad, co-founded the Global Relief Foundation (GRC) designated by the UN and US for providing support to al-Qaeda and having connections to Osama bin Laden.[17][18][19] The Global Anti-Aggression Campaign, an online human rights organization, has repeatedly hosted Hamas leaders, released anti-Western reports, and called for a confrontation with the West.[20][21][22]

Abd al-Rahman al-Nuaimi is a founding member of the Sheikh Eid bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association, often referred to as Eid Charity.[23] Eid Charity is a charitable organization with close ties to Qatari government institutions.[24] Despite giving generously to a variety of charitable causes, Eid Charity has also partnered with Madid Ahl al-Sham, a defunct Qatar-based online conduit for donations intended for the al-Nusra Front, on several charity campaigns.[25][23][26]

Terrorism accusations and international sanctions

On December 18, 2013, al-Nuaimi was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States Department of the Treasury, which described him as “a Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and material support and conveyed communications to al-Qa'ida and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade.” The Treasury Department alleged that, for an unspecified period of time, al-Nuaimi funneled over $2 million per month to Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He is also accused of providing $600,000 to Al-Qaeda representatives in Syria and $250,000 to Al-Shabaab in Somalia, in addition to an undisclosed amount to a Yemeni charity that funneled money to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. While the accusations of financial support to terrorist organizations received the most attention, U.S. authorities also accused al-Nuaimi of providing communications and other support to the Iraqi insurgency between 2003 and 2004.[1]

Al-Nuaimi has steadfastly denied the allegations, and the executive director of Alkarama—which is not itself accused of any wrongdoing—has argued that al-Nuaimi's designation as a terrorist financier and facilitator is a politically motivated attempt to silence a critic of United States policy in the Middle East. As part of its human rights work, Alkarama has documented civilian casualties resulting from U.S. drone strikes in Yemen.[13] Human rights groups stress that Alkarama itself is a legitimate organization that has provided important access to information in cases of human rights violations in the region.[12][13]

The designation by the United States was followed by similar designations by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Turkey, resulting in a travel ban and a freeze of al-Nuaimi's assets.[27][28][29][30]

References
  1. "Treasury Designates Al-Qa'ida Supporters in Qatar and Yemen" (Press release). U.S. Department of the Treasury. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  2. "Former head of human rights charity accused of leading double life as terrorist fundraiser". The Telegraph. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  3. Mendick, Robert (12 October 2014). "Al-Qaeda terror financier worked for Qatari government". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  4. Dettmer, Jamie (10 December 2014). "U.S. Ally Qatar Shelters Jihadi Moneymen". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  5. Ross, Tim; Mendick, Robert; Malnick, Edward (18 October 2014). "Terrorist paymaster targeted by Britain". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  6. "Detained Qatari Islamist Opposition Figure Released". Al Bawaba. 9 April 2001. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  7. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2000". US Department of State. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  8. "Al Nuaimi was promoting Brotherhood ideals". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  9. Spencer, David Blair and Richard (2014-09-20). "Former head of human rights charity accused of leading double life as terrorist fundraiser". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  10. "Alkarama's History". en.alkarama.org. Alkarama Foundation. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  11. "About Us - Alkarama Foundation". en.alkarama.org. Alkarama Foundation. Archived from the original on 2014-03-26. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  12. Lake, Eli (20 December 2013). "Terrorists for Human Rights". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  13. Kerr, Simeon (20 December 2013). "US sanctions prominent rights activist for alleged al-Qaeda links". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  14. Khatri, Shabina S. (22 December 2013). "US adds Qatari human rights advocate to 'terrorist' watch list". Doha News. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  15. http://www.moneyhouse.ch/en/u/v/ge/fondation_alkarama_CH-660.1.422.007-2.htm
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2016-10-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "م. ربيع حداد (@Rabih_S_Haddad) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  18. "United Nations Security Council |". www.un.org. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  19. "Treasury Department Statement Regarding the Designation of the Global Relief Foundation". www.treasury.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  20. "الحملة العالمية لمقاومة العدوان تؤكد شمولية المقاومة". www.aljazeera.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2016-10-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2016-10-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. Warrick, Joby; Root, Tik (2013-12-22). "Islamic charity officials gave millions to al-Qaeda, U.S. says". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  24. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2016-10-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2016-10-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. "United For Syria". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  27. "Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Fourteen Individuals and Two Entities to Its Sanctions List" (Press release). United Nations Security Council. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  28. "COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 1058/2014 of 8 October 2014, amending for the 221st time Council Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities associated with the Al Qaida network". EUR-Lex. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  29. "Consolidated list of financial sanctions targets in the UK". Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  30. "Turkey adds more than a dozen names to al-Qaeda list". Hurriyet Daily News. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
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