MEDIA STATEMENT
Jane & Martin Weekes
Auckland, New Zealand
24 April 2015
For Immediate Release
Weekes Family Thanks John Key for Qatari Representations
Jane and Martin Weekes, the parents of the two-year-old triplets, New Zealand citizens, who were killed in the Villaggio
mall fire in Doha, Qatar, on 28 May 2012, have thanked New Zealand Prime Minister John Key for representations he made
to HH the Emir of Qatar in Istanbul yesterday.
Mr and Mrs Weekes asked Mr Key to raise with HH the Emir their distress that one of their children’s convicted killers,
Ali Bin Jasim Bin Thani Al Thani, has not yet served any of his six-year prison sentence but is currently serving as
Qatar’s Ambassador to the European Union while his appeal is considered, along with that of his co-convicted wife, Iman
Al Kuwari.
While the Weekes understand that Al Thani and his wife are entitled to appeal their convictions, they do not believe it
is appropriate for a person convicted of killing their children to be serving in a prestigious diplomatic post in the
meantime.
Today, Mr Key’s office confirmed that he had raised the issue in a meeting with HH the Emir yesterday. Mr Key’s office
also confirmed the New Zealand and Qatari governments would remain in touch over the issue.
“We are very grateful to our Prime Minister, John Key, for raising the issue at the very highest levels of the Qatari
Government and we look forward to learning of the Emir’s response in due course,” Mr and Mrs Weekes said.
“We remain very distressed that two of the killers of our children are representing Qatar in Brussels and that they use
that as an excuse not even to attend court, and we hope they will soon be recalled.”
END