Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani

Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani is a member of the Thani dynasty and the son of the former Emir of Qatar, Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani, who ruled the country between 1949 and 1960.

Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani
Names Abdullah bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani
House	House of Thani
Father	Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani

Biography

Abdullah bin Ali is the second son of Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani.^[1] His grandfather is the former Emir of Qatar, Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani.^[1] Abdullah's brother, Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, ruled the country from 1960 to 22 February 1972 when he was overthrown by Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani.^[1] Abdullah bin Ali headed Qatar's camel-racing federation in the 1980s.^[2] Later, he left Qatar to live in different countries.^[3]

Following his criticisms about the crisis between Qatar and the neighbouring countries on his official Twitter account in September 2017, the Qatari ruler, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, allegedly seized the bank accounts of Abdullah bin Ali.^[4][5] On 18 September 2017, Abdullah bin Ali was called the legitimate heir to the throne in an op-ed by Khaled M. Batarfi in Saudi Gazette.^[6]

In January 2018, Abdullah bin Ali released a video arguing that he had been detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against his will.^[7] He was visiting Abu Dhabi as a guest of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.^[7] Soon after his announcement, he went to Kuwait.^[3]

References

1. "Who is Abdullah Al Thani, descendant of ruling family which built modern Qatar?". Al Arabiya. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
2. "Donald Trump's efforts to end a feud in the Gulf get nowhere". The Economist. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
3. Hussain Al Qatari; Jon Gambrell (17 January 2018). "Exiled sheikh promoted by Saudi Arabia now in Kuwait". Associated Press. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
4. "Tamim freezes bank accounts of opposition, vindicates himself". Egypt Today. Cairo. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
5. "Qatar Freezes Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani's Bank Accounts". Asharq Al Awsat. Dammam. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
6. Khaled M. Batarfi (18 September 2017). "Sept. 15 — the failed plot". Saudi Gazette. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
7. Callum Paton (15 January 2018). "Who Is Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani, the Qatari Royal Held 'Prisoner' in the UAE?". Newsweek. Retrieved 6 March 2021.