Activists sought to urge the Australian government to intervene in an attempt to get an Australian citizen out of Qatari prisons and resolve his case over bounced cheques. 

Joseph Sarlak, the 68-year-old building company owner, from Albury, NSW, was jailed in Doha two-and-a-half years ago.

As reported by nine.com.au, Mr Sarlak, who had a business in the Middle Eastern nation, was locked up when his firm got into money troubles and started bouncing cheques – a serious criminal offence there.

While Mr Sarlak and his lawyer claim the nightmare was caused by his Qatari business partner, he has ended up shouldering the blame.

He was initially sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail, but with a string of further bounced cheque charges against him, his jail time was likely to increase.

Now, fearing the father of three may not cope much longer, campaigners are urging urgent intervention by the Australian government.