When I was asked by Qatari human-rights defenders to stage a protest in Doha in the run-up to the World Cup, I was apprehensive.
Sure, I've done more than 3,000 protests over the last 55 years, been arrested too times and experienced 300-plus violent assaults. So I'm a risk-taker and not afraid of a few knocks.
But Qatar upped the risk factor to a much higher level. It is a police state where protests are banned. Protesters get beaten and jailed. Westerners have died after
