Qatar expresses 'regret' over invasive medical examinations of women at airport

Qatar said it regretted any distress caused by its decision to conduct intimate medical examinations of women transiting through Doha international airport from 10 different flights after it found an abandoned baby. 

The Australian government confirmed that 18 women on a flight from Doha to Sydney, including 13 Australian nationals, were subjected to compulsory medical examinations while travelling on the state-owned Qatar Airways.

Scott Morris, Australia's prime minister, described the incident as "unacceptable" and "appalling" during a press conference on Wednesday and said that all travellers were entitled to travel "free of these type of incidents".

Doha released a statement three days after the incident earlier this month and said that the search was triggered after it found a baby "concealed in a plastic bag" abandoned in a rubbish bin. It did not say how many women had been subject to the invasive examinations.

'This egregious and life-threatening violation of the law triggered an immediate search for the parents, including on flights in the vicinity of where the newborn was found'

- Qatar government statement

“The baby girl was rescued from what appeared to be a shocking and appalling attempt to kill her,” the statement said. “The infant is now safe under medical care in Doha.

“This was the first instance of an abandoned infant being discovered in such a condition at [Hamad International Airport] – this egregious and life-threatening violation of the law triggered an immediate search for the parents, including on flights in the vicinity of where the newborn was found," a Qatari government spokesperson said in the statement.  

"While the aim of the urgently decided search was to prevent the perpetrators of the horrible crime from escaping, the State of Qatar regrets any distress or infringement on the personal freedoms of any traveller caused by this action."

The spokesperson added that Qatar's minister of interior ordered an investigation to be carried out into the incident, with results from the investigation shared with its international partners. 

'Extraordinary incident'

Earlier this week, two of the women searched in Doha told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that all adult women on the flight, regardless of age, were made to disembark for the examination which occurred earlier this month.

On Monday, Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne confirmed the women had contacted the Australian government at the time of the incident, adding that it had taken up the matter with Qatar's ambassador.

The "extraordinary incident" had also been reported to the Australian Federal Police, she said.

"This is a grossly disturbing, offensive, concerning set of events," Payne told the media. 

"It is not something I have ever heard of occurring in my life, in any context. We have made our views very clear to the Qatari authorities."