Qatari authorities have opened criminal proceedings against the employer of a Filipino migrant worker who died at a World Cup training base during the tournament last year.
Salam Petroleum is being investigated after the worker, named only as Alexander, fell when fixing a set of lights at Sealine Beach resort, which hosted the Saudi Arabia national team during Qatar 2022. A court will now consider the case after it was initiated by Qatar’s public prosecution.
It follows an earlier investigation into the circumstances of the worker’s death, which was not made public until some days after the incident. He is understood to have slipped off a ramp while walking alongside a forklift truck on a private road within the resort. There were unverified suggestions in the aftermath that he may not have been wearing a safety harness at the time, and that a third worker was not present to assist with the task.
The Qatari government confirmed to the Guardian: “The case has been referred from the public prosecution to the criminal court after a full investigation was completed, including witness testimony and a review of all technical and medical reports.”
The Guardian understands Salam Petroleum is implicated in the case.
Senior personnel were unavailable when the Guardian visited Salam Petroleum’s offices in Doha and did not respond to a request for contact. A visit to the resort, 25 miles south of the Qatari capital, brought a promise that management would make contact but this has not been fulfilled.
No timeline has been given for an outcome to the case. In December, a government official said of the initial probe: “If the investigation concludes that safety protocols were not followed, the company will be subject to legal action and severe financial penalties.”
The chief executive officer of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, Nasser al-Khater, had caused controversy when asked about the incident by remarking that “death is a natural part of life”.
An investigation into the death of a second worker at the World Cup has also concluded, the Guardian understands. John Njau Kibue, a Kenyan security guard, died following a fall from Lusail Stadium on 10 December after the Netherlands v Argentina match quarter-final. His body is believed to have been repatriated two or three weeks later. An investigation by local authorities is believed to have been completed and handed to the Kenyan embassy, which subsequently passed it to his family for consideration.
The family’s view is unknown but it is thought the report concluded his death was an accident. While sources familiar with the case expected his family to be afforded compensation, which is paid under Qatari law if an investigation deems the cause of death to be work-related, it is unclear whether this has come to pass. Managers at the offices of Kibue’s employer, Al Sraiya Security Services, were not available for comment.
Fifa told the Guardian that it has been monitoring both cases closely but would not provide further comment.
