18 June 2013: The targeting of Dipendra Bhetwal by the Nepalese embassy in Qatar due to an article he wrote criticizing Maya Kumari Sharma, the Nepalese Ambassador to Qatar, highlights the systemic failure of the Government of Nepal to protect the rights of migrant workers abroad.
Last week reports emerged in the media that the Nepalese embassy in Qatar requested the Qatari authorities to detain and deport Bhetwal in a letter sent on 1 May. Bhetwal, who had been out of the country, was summoned by the Qatari Search and Follow Up Department on Sunday 16 June. Although he was asked to bring his passport and flight ticket, he was later allowed to leave and was not deported. Further reports suggest that the Embassy has since withdrawn its request following an intervention by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu.