Doha / Information Office/ June 07

The Ministry of the Interior has announced the preliminary results of ongoing investigations into the crime of piracy on the website of the Qatar News Agency (QNA) and its accounts on social networking websites

In a statement today, the Ministry said the investigation team confirmed that the piracy process had used high techniques and innovative methods by exploiting an electronic gap on the website of the Qatar News Agency. The investigation team was able to identify the sources through which the crime of piracy was committed and that process of sorting out and analysis to determine the electronic evidence are now underway in order to ensure the judicial prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime. The team confirmed that the hacked file was installed last April, which was later exploited in the publication of the fabricated news on 24/5/2017, at 12:13 am.

The Ministry of the Interior affirmed that in the light of the transparency and clarity of the State of Qatar to indicate those responsible for this subversive action, all the results of the investigation will be presented through a press conference of the Ministry of Interior immediately after the team have completed the entire investigation.

The Ministry of the Interior expressed its thanks and appreciation for the fruitful cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the British National Commission for Combating Crime (NCA) for their cooperation in the ongoing investigations, which were part of the cooperation agreements signed between the State of Qatar and the United States of America and the United Kingdom.