Angry diplomatic response after Qatar ‘forcibly examined’ women at airport

  • Date: 26-Oct-2020
  • Source: France24
  • Sector:Transport
  • Country:Qatar
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Angry diplomatic response after Qatar ‘forcibly examined’ women at airport

Female passengers flying from Qatar were subjected to invasive searches after a premature baby was found abandoned in an airport bathroom, in an incident labelled "offensive" and "grossly inappropriate" by Australia's government.







Airport officials have not denied the incident, saying women passengers "were asked to assist" with inquiries to locate the mother of the baby, who they say is still alive.

Qatari authorities have launched an appeal to trace the infant's family.

Security agents escorted an undisclosed number of women -- including Australians -- from aircraft on the tarmac at Doha's international airport to ambulances, where they were examined for signs they had recently given birth.

"(Officials) were forcing women to undergo invasive body searches -- basically forced Pap smears," a source in Doha briefed on the incident told AFP,