Australian Women to Sue Qatar Over Strip-Search

A group of Australian women are suing Qatar’s government after undergoing an invasive strip-search at Doha International Airport last October.

According to reports, the seven women were aboard a Qatar Airways plane when they were told by armed Qatari authorities to disembark.

They – along with 11 other female passengers forced off their respective flights – were then subjected to gynaecological examinations by airport officials inside ambulances on the tarmac before they were allowed back on the plane.

The strip-search was authorised after a newborn baby was discovered inside an airport restroom bin, with its mother nowhere to be found.

The women were not provided with an explanation about the strip-search nor did they give their consent to be examined.

Earlier this week, Damian Sturzaker – a lawyer representing the seven Australian women – told news outlets that his clients have been “met with a wall of silence” from the Qatari government regarding compensation and overhauling their procedures.

He said: “They want an apology from the Qatar government for their treatment, and what they want and have been asking for quite a long time is that procedures are put in place [at these airports] so that this won’t happen again.”

The women’s suit will be filed within the next few weeks in the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney, Australia.

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