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| - An Australian father and son detained by Qatar this Summer remain in custody on unspecified charges, two months after Washington designated a close relative an Al-Qaeda supporter, sources said. A Doha-based source confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that Professor Lukman Thalib, 58, and his son Ismail Talib, 24, were in custody in Qatar at an undisclosed location. Their plight was originally reported on Monday by the Guardian newspaper, which said the pair had been "arrested at their home" in the Qatari capital Doha by local authorities on July 27. The US Department of the Treasury in October designated a second son of Professor Thalib, Ahmed Luqman Talib, as a "facilitator" of Al-Qaeda, along with that son's company, Talib and Sons PTY LTD. "Ahmed Luqman Talib is involved in operational and facilitation activities on behalf of Al-Qaeda, in furtherance of AQ objectives," a statement by the State Department said on October 19. "Talib and Sons PTY LTD, a gemstone company located in Australia, is owned, controlled, or directed by Ahmed Luqman Talib. Ahmed Luqman "Talib has had financial dealings in a number of countries, and his business dealing in gemstones has provided him the ability to move funds internationally for the benefit of AQ," the State Department added. No charges have been brought against Ahmed Luqman Talib publicly. His father Professor Thalib is listed on the directory of Qatar University's College of Health Sciences as a professor of public health specialising in biostatistics. Naila Ahmed, head of casework at Britain's CAGE human rights organisation, said "professor Thalib and his son Ismail have had their life overturned in a matter of weeks". "They are likely being prepared for deportation from Qatar," Ahmed said in a statement. "We are deeply concerned for their welfare and call upon the Australian authorities to take immediate action to return them home." The Qatari government did not respond to calls for comment on the case. "The Australian Government is providing consular assistance to two Australian men detained in Qatar," Australia's foreign ministry said in a statement to AFP on Tuesday. "Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment," it added. burs-gw/dwo
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