Faraj Mezher Al-Shammari is a Qatari journalist and broadcaster who was arbitrarily stripped of his Qatari citizenship in June 1999 after publishing an article in his weekly column “The Fourth Dimension” in Al-Raya newspaper, in which he discussed taxes and financial hardship among citizens. The day after the article’s publication, authorities withdrew his and his family’s civil identification cards and placed them in deportation prison for three months without investigation. Although he issued a public apology from prison under promise of pardon, he was not released and was instead forced to request deportation to Saudi Arabia, where he has lived with his family since. Al-Shammari was also a broadcaster for Qatar TV, a member of the national golf team, and an elected representative in the country’s first municipal council. 

At the end of 2025, he began speaking out about his case on TikTok, where he sharply criticised Qatari policies. In February 2026, he was threatened by a Qatari official who told him to stop broadcasting on his TikTok account and cease criticising the state, or he would be held accountable. His account was immediately deleted without any explanation from the platform’s management.

The Qatari authorities also prevented him from entering the country, even temporarily, to attend the mourning ceremonies held after the deaths of his father in 2021 and his mother in 2023.