Asma Al-Rayyan

Sheikha Asma Al-Rayyan, also known as Asma Rayan and Asma Arian, is a German-Qatari human rights advocate and a member of the extended Qatari royal family. She is the wife of Sheikh Talal bin Abdelaziz bin Ahmed Al-Thani, a son of the former Crown Prince Abdelaziz bin Ahmed Al Thani. Since her husband, and nineteen other members of the Qatari royal family, were arrested in 2013 for opposing the diplomatic and economic policies of Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Al-Rayyan has been an outspoken critic of the Emir and his government. Left impoverished after her husband was stripped of his inheritance and his assets were frozen, she took her children to Germany, where she is a citizen. Al-Rayyan is a supporter of public education and public healthcare and has given speeches advocating for the rights of Qatari women, children, and royal family members who oppose the Emir's government.

Biography Al-Rayyan married Sheikh Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family and the son of former Minister of Finance Sheikh Abdelaziz bin Ahmed Al Thani, in 2007. Due to the block on their finances, her husband was imprisoned for not paying his debts in 2013 and was given a sentence of twenty-two years. He was one of twenty Qatari royals that were arrested by order of the Emir. Those arrested, supposedly for opposing economic and diplomatic policies in Qatar, were all related to Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani, who was detained in the United Arab Emirates.

After her husband's arrest, the Qatari government forced Al-Rayyan and her children out of their home, without being allowed to take any of their belongings, and put them in makeshift housing built for FIFA workers. Their assets were frozen and they were denied proper medical care.

In 2019, Al-Rayyan testified before the Club Suisse de la Press in Geneva, accusing the Qatari government of denying her children their rights as members of the royal family. She also stated that 90-95% of Qatari citizens do not have proper living conditions and that preferential treatment is given to families who work for the government.