A Briton has died in Qatar after telling friends that he had been detained and tortured by secret police.
The Foreign Office vowed on Thursday September 29 to help the family of travel executive Marc Bennett, 52.
He had been employed by Discover Qatar, part of state-owned Qatar Airways, to promote the country ahead of the World Cup, but had resigned.
He was considering a move to a Saudi travel firm shortly before he died, at a time when the Saudis had cut all diplomatic relations with Qatar.
His widow Nancy Bennett, 51, told The Times on Thursday: "There are so many unanswered questions. He left here with the whole world ahead of him."
Marc was found hanging in a Doha hotel during Christmas 2019, ten weeks after he had been arrested at the offices of Qatar Airways.
His family say he had been taken blindfolded and handcuffed at a state security detention centre. He told how he was stripped naked, blasted with high pressure hoses, and slammed against walls.
The popular travel industry executive was held for three weeks. United Nations lawyers say there have been "credible allegations" of extra-judicial detention and ill-treatment.
After his release, Marc was prevented from leaving Qatar to return to Nancy, and their three children, in Sussex. His loved ones say he feared being taken into custody again.
The Qatari authorities declared Bennett's death a suicide. A British coroner has ruled there was "no specific evidence of suicidal intent" and that "the circumstances of the months leading up to his death remain unclear".
Marc did not leave a suicide note and he sent no emails or texts to his wide circle of friends and family. The night before he died he had a video call with his wife and children, during which he was "laughing and joking".
The Foreign Office closed the case last September, exactly a week after Liz Truss became foreign secretary, despite the concerns of Marc's family.
The next month Truss visited Qatar for trade talks. Bennett was a former director at Tui and Thomas Cook and became senior vice-president of Discover Qatar, a subsidiary of the state-owned Qatar Airways, in 2017. His task was to modernise the country's tourism industry.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said today/yesterday: "We provided consular support to Marc’s family and raised his case with the Qatari authorities, urging them to thoroughly investigate these serious allegations.”
Officials cannot investigate mistreatment allegations in other countries, but urged the Qataris to act swiftly to find out what happened to Marc. They are ready to provide further assistance to his family.
A spokesperson for Qatar Airways said: "Marc left the business and evidence subsequently came to light showing that over a period of time he had emailed highly confidential documents relating to Qatar Airways to a private email address without authorisation. He was arrested and then this became a police matter."
They described him as a popular former member of staff, with colleagues shocked at his death. The firm paid towards his repatriation and certain other costs.
Marc told friends he was had been taken by police in Qatar and subjected to sleep deprivation techniques and torture.
