Qatar opens criminal case over exams

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar said Friday that it referred officials at its international airport to prosecutors for possible charges after women aboard Qatar Airways flights faced forced vaginal examinations after the discovery of an abandoned newborn.

The statement comes as the Australian government has expressed anger and union workers have threatened not to service Qatar Airways aircraft in Sydney over the Oct. 2 incident. Australia also represents a crucial route for Qatar Airways, the state-owned long-haul carrier based at Hamad International Airport in Doha.

In a statement, Qatar’s Government Communication Office described the abandoning of the baby as the “attempted murder” of the child.

“The subsequent procedures taken by the authorities at the airport, including examining a number of female passengers, revealed that standard procedures were violated,” the statement said. “Those responsible for these violations and illegal actions have been referred to the Public Prosecution Office.”

The statement did not elaborate or identify who had given the order to conduct the exams. It said an investigation by Qatari authorities continued and that Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, the country’s prime minister and interior minister, offered his country’s “sincerest apology” to the women forced to undergo the exams.

The physical examinations of passengers bound for Sydney and nine other unnamed destinations triggered anger in Australia. The government denounced the searches as inappropriate and beyond circumstances in which the women could give free and informed consent.