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LONDON: A fig of Al Jazeera employees assertion to person been sexually assaulted and bullied wrong the workplace, an probe published connected Monday by the BBC has revealed.

The probe highlighted what unit alleged to beryllium a toxic enactment civilization wrong the Qatar-based broadcaster with erstwhile and existent workers saying they had faced harassment for years.

According to the report, erstwhile Al Jazeera presenter and writer Kamahl Santamaria was accused of inappropriate behaviour by respective members of staff.

Santamaria spent 16 years astatine Al Jazeera earlier joining the New Zealand tv web TVNZ arsenic a apical broadcaster, wherever helium lasted lone 32 days earlier quitting.

Some of those questioned pointed retired the discrepancy betwixt Santamaria’s resignation from Al Jazeera and his speedy departure from TVNZ, which was allegedly spurred by an onslaught of complaints.

In a nationalist connection issued past week connected his website, the presenter acknowledged portion of the allegations adding that immoderate of them were “true, immoderate missing important context, immoderate outright lies, and a rewriting of history.”

However, successful effect to the latest claims, Santamaria admitted to and apologized for, “behavior that whitethorn person made anyone consciousness uncomfortable,” and added that what helium antecedently thought was “flirtatious, over-friendly, conscionable a spot of banter, oregon simply wrong the bounds of acceptable successful the prevailing newsroom civilization was, successful fact, not.”

According to staff, the presenter made intersexual remarks and sent flirty texts to colleagues connected Twitter, WhatsApp, and interior Al Jazeera email.

He was besides accused of inappropriate touching and undesired kissing successful beforehand of eyewitnesses connected much than 1 occasion.

One idiosyncratic said: “Then came the touching successful the office. A manus connected the shoulder, a weird hug, and the worst: The buss connected the cheek. On much than 1 juncture I had to spell to the bath to hitch Kamahl’s saliva from my face.”

The BBC’s investigations besides revealed that a fig of allegations were made toward different members of unit including mid-senior managers, but they remained mostly unaddressed. A full of 22 claims were recovered to person been made.

Al Jazeera said that it, “considers its unit crossed the satellite the backbone and instauration of the institution – their information and wellbeing are of utmost importance.

“As an planetary enactment with implicit 95 nationalities, we continually strive to physique a steadfast and constructive enactment situation for all.”

The BBC reported that though Al Jazeera had been made alert of the complaints privately, nary enactment had yet been taken, adding that it had besides received reports of harassment successful Al Jazeera’s London newsroom.

Some workers claimed the incidents often went unpunished owed to a civilization of fearfulness wrong the company.

A subordinate of unit who freelanced for Al Jazeera for respective years said she reported Santamaria years agone and was shocked to observe that nary enactment had been taken. “I had reported him six years ago, and thing was done. How galore much radical did helium bash this to since then?”

The pistillate did not formally record a complaint, but claimed that erstwhile she told a mid-level manager astir what had happened, they replied, “oh, he’s not inactive doing that, is he?”

Those interviewed claimed that respective members of unit had near the media enactment due to the fact that of the “toxic workplace culture.”

David, a erstwhile worker who revealed helium had resigned arsenic a effect of bullying and harassment, said: “People are aggravated astir each sorts of things, and they don’t consciousness they tin talk retired successful Al Jazeera and successful Qatar.”