Bahrain calls on Qatar to release athlete Sami Al-Haddad

Sami Al-Haddad is a prominent Bahraini athlete and bodybuilder. (Twitter)

• Al-Haddad was detained by Qatari officials on Jan. 8, 2021

DUBAI: Bahrain’s Olympic Committee (ANOC) is seeking the release of bodybuilder Sami Al-Haddad from Qatar, state news agency BNA reported.
The call was echoed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the report added.
Al-Haddad was detained by Qatari officials on Jan. 8, 2021, while he was fishing in Bahraini territorial waters, BNA said.
The athlete won the gold medal in the IFBB Mozolani Pro Classic in 2016 and IFBB Pro Spain in 2018 and was the first Bahraini to receive a passport with a professional athlete as his profession.