Qatar charges airport officers for forced gynaecological examinations of female passengers

An image obtained by Doha News from a surveillance camera in Hamad International Airport shows officials caring for the abandoned baby

Credit: Doha News

Airport police officers in Qatar are facing up to three years in prison for their involvement in forced gynaecological examinations of female passengers, including two Brits, after a newborn baby was found in a bin in Doha airport in October.

Qatari prosecutors announced on Monday that an unspecified number of airport security had been charged with ‘violating laws’ after being referred for prosecution earlier this month.

Australia sounded the alarm on the incident after 13 of their citizens across 10 Qatar Airways flights contacted authorities upon their return. Eighteen women of various nationalities in total came forward to say they were made to disembark their flights at Doha’s Hamad International Airport that day.

On one flight to Sydney, all of the women were ordered to disembark the plane where they were then taken to ambulances on the tarmac and told to remove their underwear before undergoing the vaginal examination to check for signs of birth, according to Australian media.

The prosecutor also said it had identified and charged the baby’s mother, who has left the country, with attempted murder and has started legal proceedings to arrest “the fugitive”.

“Investigations revealed that the infant’s mother… threw the newborn infant in the trash can in one of the toilets in the departures lounge at the airport and boarded the plane to her destination," the prosecutors said in a statement on Monday.

The airport officers had not been aware their actions were unlawful at the time, the prosecutors said. 

The father of the baby was identified through a DNA test. A text message on his phone from a woman telling him that she had just given birth and that she was abandoning the child and leaving the country, revealed the mother’s identity before it was confirmed by DNA.

All expatriates coming to Qatar for long-term work are required to give a substantial sample of blood during the registration process.

Both parents were only identified by the prosecutor as of “Asian nationality”. The mother faces a maximum sentence of 15 years.