Australian woman sues Qatar for forced medical examination at Doha airport
After the infant was discovered, more than 18 women from 10 different flights, including 13 Australians on a plane bound for Sydney, were involved.
The women were removed from the plane by armed Qatari authorities and subjected to a health check in an ambulance on the airport runway, allegedly to determine whether they were the mother of the deceased. newborn baby or not.
Damian Sturzaker, a lawyer representing Sydney-based Marque Lawyers, told CNN: “Two of the younger women had to undergo an extremely invasive gynecological exam. All the tests were not consensual”.
One woman brought her 5-month-old baby and “explained that she couldn’t be the mother of this found child, but they said they had to examine them and force her to undress,” Sturzaker said. .
The exams have caused outrage in Australia and around the world, with actions likened to sexual assault. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the incident “horrific” and “unacceptable.”
The Qatari government released a statement on October 28 last year apologizing for “any suffering or invasion of personal freedom of any tourist” as a result of the incident.
CNN has reached out to the Qatari government for comment on the lawsuit, but did not receive a response to the overtime request at time of publication. CNN has also reached out to Qatar Airways for comment.
At the time, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani “expressed his deepest sympathies to the women affected by the airport search and transferred the State of Qatar.” apologize to them.”
Despite the outrage over the case and the promise by Morrison and Secretary of State Marise Payne to take action, “nothing was done”, lawyer Sturzaker said.
But Sturzaker said there were no published results from the investigation and no announcements about changes in airport procedures.
The women in their 30s to late 50s also suffered from ongoing mental health difficulties from the incident, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, fear of flying, and some had to take time off work and seek counseling, Sturzaker said. .
They want the Qatari government to apologize and have meaningful dialogue with the Qatari authorities so that similar incidents do not happen again, Mr. Sturzaker said.
Sturzaker wrote a letter to Qatar Airways, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, and the Qatari Embassy in Canberra, and included legal advice that if the incident happened in Australia it would be at risk of assault. , pin or violate the person, and said the woman is entitled to compensation.
The women are seeking unresolved damages for emotional damage, loss of income and medical treatment, he said.