Women on 10 flights from Qatar invasively examined

SYDNEY: Australia revealed yesterday that female passengers on 10 planes flying out of Doha were forced to endure ‘appalling’ physical examinations, as Qatar expressed regret for the distress caused to the women.

The Gulf emirate had already been facing a huge hit to its reputation after reports emerged that women were removed from a Sydney-bound Qatar Airways flight and forced to undergo vaginal inspections on Oct 2.

The searches were carried after a newborn baby had been abandoned at Doha airport.

Qatar’s government said Wednesday in its first account of the events that the baby had been wrapped in plastic and left to die in a rubbish bin.

But Australia continued to pile pressure on Qatar, with Foreign Minister Marise Payne announcing that the number of planes targeted was much greater than a single flight.

She told a Senate committee that women on ‘ 10 aircraft in total’ had been subject to the searches, including 18 women including 13 Australians – on flight to Sydney.

AFP understands one French woman on the Sydney-bound plane was also among them.

Payne did not detail the destinations of the other flights, adding she was unaware if any Australian women were on those planes. Payne had already described the incidents as ‘grossly disturbing’ and ‘offensive’.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also weighed into the controversy on Wednesday, describing the treatment of the women as ‘ appalling’ and ‘unacceptable’. — AFP