Australia presses Qatar for report into women’s distress at Doha airport
Legal proceedings begin against staff who allegedly subjected passengers to intimate medical examinations
Qatar has not provided the Australian government with its report into the alleged non-consensual intimate checkup of 18 women on a flight bound for Sydney last year.
The women were began a plane and subject to medical examinations, in some cases internal examinations, to work out if they were the mother of a neonate found dumped within the terminal. They described the experience as absolutely terrifying.
The Qatari government apologised to the ladies after the incident was made public in late October, saying airport staff had violated standard procedures and people responsible would be prosecuted.
It said it had been conducting an investigation and would share the findings of the ultimate report “in the very near future”.
On Wednesday the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the report had not been received, three months later.
“We are disappointed that the govt of Qatar has thus far not provided the Australian government with a report into the incident at Hamad International Airport,” Dfat said. “Dfat continues to interact regularly with Qatari authorities to hunt updates on this matter.”
Legal proceedings against the airport staff imagined to be responsible are under way in Qatar this month.
In October Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, said the treatment of the ladies , who included 13 Australian citizens, had been “unacceptable”.
“I assure you that we’ll hold those liable for these acts to account,” he tweeted. “What happened doesn’t represent Qatar’s laws or values. we’ll undertake all measures to stop a recurrence.”
The Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Sydney on 2 October was just one of 10 flights trapped within the incident but so far none of the opposite flights are publicly identified.
A number of the affected women told Guardian Australia in November that that they had not been contacted by Qatar Airways or the Qatari government.
Qatar has been contacted for comment.
