Manager made ‘hostage in Qatar’

Philippe Bogaert, a Belgian television producer, goes by the Twitter handle “Hostage in Qatar”.

Utilising social media and the internet, the father-of-two is trying to draw attention to a legal battle as he tries to leave the gas-rich emirate after a company he managed was declared insolvent last September.

Since December, Mr Bogaert has been stranded with limited funds at the Belgian embassy, a plight that he says is rooted in Qatar’s “medieval” sponsorship system, which generally allows local partners to block the exit of employees.