Australian naturopath Barbara O’Neill was arrested in Qatar and later released, according to a video shared on her official Instagram handle.
Barbara said that she was taken to a police station late at night, questioned for nearly an hour and asked to return the following morning. Barbara, who is known for promoting natural remedies and lifestyle-based approaches to health, said she is now back in Dubai with her husband, Michael.
In the clip, Barbara recalled the incident, saying that the arrest took place at around 9 pm when she was preparing to go to bed. She said that around 8 men arrived at her accommodation, one of whom identified himself as being from Qatar’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and told her that she had to accompany them to the police station. Barbara further said that she was instructed to return to the police station at 7 am the following morning. She said that she returned as directed and spent around 5 hours there before being heard by the head prosecutor and two lawyers.
She said that a policewoman accompanied her while she changed before she was taken to the police station. Barbara described the experience as “incredibly unnerving” and said she became emotional while being questioned. “I did cry,” she said, recalling that an officer asked why she was crying and told her that they had not hurt her. “They said, no, you don’t have a ban. You can travel,” she said.
She claimed that the authorities eventually decided that she did not pose a threat to public safety and allowed her to return to her hotel instead of keeping her in a cell overnight.
Barbara said that she told the officer that she had “done nothing wrong”.
