The mother of a woman who was murdered in Qatar still has no idea whether her killer has been released more than a decade on from the tragedy.
Lauren Patterson was teaching at a primary school in the Qatari capital Doha when she went missing after going to a party in October 2013.
Her body was found in the desert after she was raped and murdered by Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah al-Jabr in a brutal attack.
Lauren’s family were told he would face a death sentence after being jailed for the ‘heinous and shocking’ attack in 2014.
But in May 2018, the decision was overturned and he was instead given only ten-and-a-half years in jail, while Lauren’s family were offered just £200,000 compensation.
More than seven years on, Lauren’s mother Alison, 60, is clueless as to what has happened to her daughter’s killer – most crucially, if he has been freed.
The loving mother, who lives in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, has tried for years to find answers from Qatar’s authorities, but has been blocked at every turn and was even accused of plotting to kill al-Jabr.
This wall of silence has left Alison unable to move on from Lauren’s death, while the situation has also been a burden on the 24-year-old’s friends still living in Qatar and fearing they could bump into al-Jabr at any moment.
‘We have written personally to the Emir but never had a reply. We gave letters to the Qatari embassy but heard nothing,’ Alison told The Sun.
‘You don’t move on, but you’re putting a line under one part of it, you’re coming to terms with he’s out.’
She has asked the Foreign Office and the Qatari Government to tell her whether al-Jabr is still behind bars but has been met with a ‘stonewall of silence’.
The last time her lawyer probed for answers, he heard nothing back – an outcome she has become all too used to.
Alison was even accused of plotting to kill al-Jabr after she received a text message from her lawyers in Doha, saying: ‘Good morning, we were accused to set up a trap to kill him when will be released.’
The outlandish suggestion is rendered the more ridiculous, as she said she did not want him to face the death penalty when he was convicted of Lauren’s murder.
She and her husband Kevin, 62, believe he was released in the months leading up to the 10th anniversary of his crime and is enjoying his freedom.
The couple fear he could easily run into Lauren’s friends who still live in the capital – or worse, he could kill again.
In the months before her death, Lauren had been thinking about moving jobs to another country as she had become ‘uncomfortable’ living in Qatar.
‘She was feeling a little bit apprehensive, there were things she wasn’t comfortable with. The school was good, she really enjoyed that. It was other things,’ Alison said.
When Alison’s mother became seriously ill, Lauren had sought to leave the country to visit her, but was denied permission to leave by Qatari authorities.
Sadly, the young teacher missed the opportunity to say goodbye and was eventually granted leave to attend her funeral.
She flew back to Qatar the day after on October 11 and immediately after arriving back in her flat, her friend suggested they go out for a few drinks.
Lauren barely had time to unpack her suitcase and planned to do so the next day.
Tragically, she would never get the chance, as later that night she was abducted by al-Jabr and his accomplice, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan Abdul Aziz.
The pair had offered to drive Lauren and her friend home after they were unable to find a taxi. The two women were on friendly terms with them both and had no idea of their vile intentions.
Lauren’s friend was dropped off at her home first, despite living further away than her. Lauren was raped, stabbed multiple times then taken out into the desert where she was burnt beyond recognition.
Alison began to worry when she nor Lauren’s friends had heard from her. They began a desperate search for the 24-year-old, which sickeningly al-Jabr also joined in with.
Her body was eventually found when two falconers noticed something odd when their birds failed to return to them in the desert miles outside Doha.
They went to investigate and found Lauren’s burned remains with a knife still in her body.
Her killer and his accomplice used petrol to set her on fire before fleeing back to the city believing their crime would never be discovered.
Al-Jabr was already a suspect – he was the last person to see Lauren alive and had scratches on his face.
But Qatar police believed in the adage that a killer always returns to the scene of his crime and staked out the desert spot where Lauren was found.
Jabr and his Rayban-wearing accomplice Mohamed Abdallah Hassan Abdul Aziz were arrested when they drove out to the desert to check on their gruesome handiwork.
While she may never get any answers, Alison is adamant to shine a light on what she believes to be an example of Qatar’s shameful human rights record.
She made headlines in 2022 after criticising former England soccer captain David Beckham who was paid tens of millions to back the World Cup in Qatar.
Then she wrote to every footballer in the squad along with manager Gareth Southgate asking them to highlight Lauren’s death by making an L-shape with their hands on the pitch. She did not receive a reply.
But she and Kevin, who live near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, remain unrelating in the quest for justice for Lauren no matter how long it takes.