The women were examined to determine whether they had given birth previously after a baby was found in an airport bin
A group of Australian women who were strip-searched and examined at Doha Airport will sue authorities in Qatar.
The women were taken off their flight and checked for whether they had given birth after a baby was found in a bin at Hamad Airport.
The victims labelled the incident as state-sanctioned assault after which Qatar apologised, handing one airport official a suspended jail sentence… but they say their cases have since been ignored.
The women were taken off their plane and inspected by nurses in ambulances on the tarmac with one saying she was “subjected to the most horrifically invasive physical exam”.
The group did not consent to the five minute examination and were given no information as to what was going on… but afterwards they were escorted back to their flight.
One says she “Was certain that [she] was either going to be killed by one of the many men that had a gun, or that [her] husband on the plane was going to be killed”.
Another woman admitted to recurring nightmares surrounding the experience… and was motivated to pursue action after being met with a “wall of silence” from the Qatari government.
She says “by speaking up, we want to ensure that no woman is ever subjected to the demoralising, horrendous treatment we were subjected to”.
