Qatar's ruler on Tuesday hit out at "double standards" unleashed in an "unprecedented campaign" of criticism over his country's rights record ahead of this year's football World Cup.
Just 26 days from the first game, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani gave a rare public airing of the Islamic country's frustration following years of attacks over its treatment of foreign workers and over LGBTQ and women's rights.
"Since we won the honour of hosting the World Cup, Qatar has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign that no host country has faced," the emir told Qatar's legislative council.
Qatar initially accepted negative commentary "in good faith" and "even considered that some criticism was positive and useful, helping us to develop aspects that need to be developed," the ruler said.
"But it soon became clear to us that the campaign continues, expands and includes fabrications and double standards, until it reached an amount of ferocity that made many wonder, unfortunately, about the real reasons and motives behind this campaign," he said.
FIFA awarded the World Cup to an Arab country for the first time in 2010. It has since spent tens of billions of dollars on preparations but has faced intense scrutiny over human rights.
