Qatar confirms detention of rights group workers

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar has confirmed it is holding two Britons who went missing in the Gulf nation while researching migrant labor issues.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Qatar News Agency on Saturday that Krishna Upadhyaya and Ghimire Gundev were arrested and are being interrogated for unspecified violations of the law.

The statement said that all actions taken against the men are "consistent with the principles of human rights" outlined in the laws of Qatar.

The men were detained on Aug. 31 while researching work conditions on behalf of the Norway-based Global Network for Rights and Development, which has called for their release.