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Big turn of events when five Australian women towed a flight and examined their genitals ‘invasively’ at Doha Airport after a premature baby was found, dumped and beaten back to Qatari government
- 18 Australian women were searched unnecessarily at Doha airport in 2020
- Passengers were towed from Qatar Airways flight to Sydney
- Authorities searched for mother of a premature baby in a bathroom
- Passengers claim they underwent intimate physical examination at gunpoint
- 5 Australian women are now suing the Qatari government in federal court
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Five Australian women who were allegedly searched at gunpoint at Doha airport after a baby was found in a bathroom have charged the Qatari government with assault and battery.
Hundreds of women were forcibly removed from the plane in Doha on October 2, 2020, as officials searched a bathroom at the terminal for the mother of a newborn baby.
The women were removed by armed guards and many say they were forced to perform gynecological or intimate physical examinations.
Five Australian women are suing the Qatari government after being forced off a Qatar Airways flight at Doha Airport on October 2, 2020, and searched after a premature baby (pictured) was found dumped in the terminal bathroom
The group, which was among 18 Australian women forced to undergo gynecological or intimate physical examinations, is seeking damages for alleged misconduct by the government-run Qatar Civil Aviation Authority and Qatar Airways (pictured)
Of the 18 Australian women involved in the incident, five have now filed suit with the Federal Court after failing to obtain compensation from the Qatari government through other channels.
“Sometimes you have to take legal action in circumstances where moral, or actually even political or diplomatic pressure is going nowhere,” says Damian Sturzaker, partner of Marque Advocaten, who represents the five women.
The women, who cannot legally be named, were passengers on a flight from Doha to Sydney and are seeking damages for alleged misconduct by the government-run Qatar Civil Aviation Authority and Qatar Airways.
A passenger was forced to undergo a strip search with her five-month-old son, the lawsuit alleges. Another, who is elderly and legally blind, was led from the plane but was not searched.
The incident was reported by the women to the Australian Federal Police upon their arrival in Sydney on October 3, 2020.
CCTV footage released by local media showed first responders gathering around the baby (pictured) at Doha airport
Qatar Airways (pictured) also faces potential negligence damages under the Montreal Convention, which states that an airline is liable for death or personal injury that occurs while boarding or disembarking
They say they have had “illicit physical contact” and now suffer from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Qatari government has been charged with assault, assault, negligence and false imprisonment.
Qatar Airways is also facing potential negligence damages under the Montreal Convention, which states that an airline is liable for death or personal injury that occurs while boarding or disembarking.