An absurd and disturbing story has emerged. A British couple, Craig and Sarah Barratt, flew to Doha, Qatar, ten days after their wedding in New York, only for their dreamy honeymoon to turn into a nightmare in midsummer 2025.
In June last year, Craig Barratt, a top-tier Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador member, was staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Doha with his wife. Craig, who works as a healthcare consultant, was away in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for work when his wife, Sarah, was approached at the hotel pool by two male guests on the pretext of seeking her help to get their pictures clicked.
In no time, one of the two Qatari men asked for her room number, saying that he would come to her room and sleep with her. Sarah interpreted this as a direct threat of rape or sexual assault.
“So she laughed off the man’s approach, saying, “Not a chance!” But he persisted, and matters escalated to the point where he asked for her room number. “And I said, ‘I’m not telling you.’ And he said, ‘Oh, so you are staying here then?’ And I thought, ‘OK, Sarah, that was very stupid of you.’” He then said he would come to her room with her. She said: “No you won’t.” He replied: “I will sleep with you, you will enjoy it, and you will fall in love with me,” the Telegraph article reads.
Sarah immediately called Craig, who reported the matter to hotel management and specifically asked the staff not to contact Sarah.
The hotel authorities initially assured the British couple that the Qatari men harassing Sarah had been removed, citing CCTV evidence and urged them to stay. The Hotel’s general manager, Carlo Javakhia, even sent a supportive WhatsApp message to Sarah apologising for the “inappropriate behaviour”.
Two days later, however, the two men reappeared at the hotel. Craig and Sarah immediately checked out of the hotel.
As per the Telegraph report, when Craig confronted Carlo Javakhia through WhatsApp about the contradictions and the hotel’s later claim that there is no evidence anyone approached Sarah, he called the general manager “both a terrible manager and a terrible man”.
The matter did not die here. Craig proceeded to escalate a formal complaint to Marriott senior leadership. He left a short TripAdvisor review warning that the hotel “was not safe for Western women”. Craig further alleged that the hotel management conspired with the local police to allow harassment.
Craig’s negative review was removed within three days at Marriott’s request.
Soon after, the Ritz-Carlton Doha filed a criminal complaint against Craig, citing his TripAdvisor review and WhatsApp messages.
In February 2025, Craig Barratt was convicted in absentia under the cybercrime laws of Qatar. He was sentenced to one week in prison, a QAR 20,000 fine, and deportation.
Craig Barratt, however, decided to fight back. He appealed before Qatar’s Court of Cassation or Supreme Court. Amidst the ongoing appeals, he was allowed to travel to Qatar for work.
In December 2025, however, when Craig Barratt arrived at Doha Airport to fly home, he was detained by the Qatari authorities. This came after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction, though the prison term was suspended.
According to Craig Barratt’s account, he was held for four nights in extremely grim conditions, first in an overcrowded and freezing “cage” with 15 other men. Then, in a detention centre before being deported. Barratt said that now he is banned from Qatar.
