Qatar’s story of unclothing women…. Shocking justification for the crime
As female travelers and victims who were stripped by force at Doha airport and shamefully examined them wait for the punishment of those responsible, Qatar has shocked them with another scandal.
About two months after the accident, a statement released by the Qatari prosecutor’s office a few days ago included a clear defense of those accused of stripping women at Hamad airport and justifying what they had done , was a new shock for the victims, who still suffer from psychological trauma as a result of what they suffered in Qatar. Qatar’s statement also included massive omissions revealed by Al-Ain News in the following lines.
This came when more shocking and painful details are yet to be revealed about the crime committed by Doha airport security after finding a little girl at the airport, and Human Rights Watch described what security of Qatar committed as a sexual assault.
Incident details
On October 2, Qatari security forces forced women traveling on ten flights to Hamad International Airport to disembark and forcefully undress them, forcing them to undergo humiliating medical examinations, after finding a newborn at the airport.
Among those women, 13 were Australians, who showed the shameful research carried out by the Doha authorities, for themselves and other women, and called on the authorities in their country to reclaim their rights.
With Australian pressure, Qatar admitted to the incident after 26 days, justifying the proceedings by not allowing those responsible and those involved escaping and leaving the country. In light of the intensified international anger, Qatar began to understand that it could not escape its crime by justifying it. Therefore Khalid ben Khalifa Al Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar, expressed his apologies for everything that happened at the end of the same month.
The Qatari government’s Communications Office also released a statement showing that preliminary investigations had resulted in what it described as violations in the procedures followed against female travelers. It also stressed that the incident and those responsible for these violations and illegal actions were taken to the specific prosecution, according to the procedures followed.
Qatar Prosecutor’s Statement
As the victims awaited the investigation results, the Qatari prosecutor issued a new statement a few days ago hailing airport security, noting that it has done its legal role to investigate the responsible for the crime of throwing a little girl at the airport.
The statement defended what airport security had done regarding female travelers’ stripping and their submission to a shameful medical examination, saying that some employees had violated procedures, believing them to be correct, as required by the law.
The same defense was repeated in the same statement, noting that they had acted in this manner, believing that what they were doing was within the law. In an attempt to acquit senior airport officials of the crime, the statement claimed that the perpetrator had acted unilaterally.
The Qatari prosecutor’s office revealed in its statement that investigations have shown that the mother of the child found at the airport is of the nationality of one of the Asian countries and that she also had a relationship with another Asian person. So the child ended up, the mother, and before leaving the country, threw the newborn in the trash in one of the toilets in the airport’s departure hall and boarding the plane from its destination. After defending the accused airport employees, the prosecution concluded its statement that they had been taken to court.
A lot of scandals
Analysis of the contents of the Qatari prosecutor’s statement includes the full set of Doha scandals, starting with her defense of airport security by inspecting women in 10 planes at the airport, claiming that she thought to apply the law. In fact, and even this justification is considered to be true, is a great scandal for Hamad airport, as the employees commit a crime of inspecting several women in 10 planes, believing that they are applying the law, which raises many questions about the efficiency of the airport and its workers.
Besides, it is difficult for anyone to understand that employees, regardless of their level, make a single decision to inspect women in 10 planes at the airport, without referring to the senior officials of the airport, led by Akbar Al-Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways Group, who had previously been making racist remarks against women. It is also noteworthy that the prosecution has moved from indicting to defending Hamad airport employees, which raises questions about the trial’s seriousness. Also, the Qatari prosecution’s statement did not contain any article on compensation for victims and their rights after what had happened to them.
A female traveler walks in with a baby at the airport, then throws it in the bathroom and goes to its destination without anyone knowing, then harasses the victims on other planes, is another scandal airport security which was praised by the prosecution statement.
The vague announcement of the identity of the mother of the child, about two months after the crime, is also a scandal and raises questions about the security measures applied at the airport and their effectiveness.
Shocking new details
It came as more details were still revealed about what happened at the airport. One of the victims told these details last Saturday on the Australian show 60 Minutes, after the show’s categorical warning about Qatar’s danger to foreigners after the airport inspection incident. The victim, who identified as Jane, related that after boarding a Qatar Airways plane to Sydney: Heavily armed guards abducted other Australian passengers and me from the plane.
The Australian victim added: On the runway ambulances were waiting for the passengers…Then they forced us into the ambulances and told us they needed a medical examination because a child was found in the bathroom at the airport. She also explained: We were asked to lie down on a stretcher and remove our underwear for another woman to examine.
Jane added to the 60 Minute shows: I kept thinking, if they thought I was guilty of something, what would happen to me in this country? The show host said the crash should prompt passengers to reconsider Doha’s choice as a transit destination.
Jane concludes her account of the Doha airport scandal by seeing that Qatar presents itself as a modern and progressive country that welcomes and respects foreign visitors, but this is far from the truth. In fact, Qatar is a dangerous destination, especially for western women.
On his part, a witness in the Australian passenger’s case named Wolfgang Babik has revealed new details about the attack on Australian passengers at Hamad International Airport. He told Al-Arabiya TV station on Thursday: Qatari security guards got on the plane and started unloading the passengers and taking them away regardless of their physical situation. He also indicated that those female travelers are still in shock and receive psychological treatment.
He also explained that the victims of the flight from Doha seek their rights and not compensation, adding: I have been appointed as a lawyer to defend passengers’ rights.
He said that women underwent a shameful examination of women at Doha airport, and affirming: We would not like to repeat the experience of Doha airport. What happened represents violence and discrimination against women and the women who were distressed on the Doha flight must be compensated.
