Australia presses Qatar for report into women's ordeal at Doha airport

Qatar has not provided the Australian government with its report into the alleged non-consensual intimate medical examination of 18 women on a flight bound for Sydney last year. The women were taken off a plane and subject to medical examinations, in some cases internal examinations, to determine if they were the mother of a newborn baby found dumped in the terminal. They described the experience as absolutely terrifying. The Qatari government apologised to the women after the incident was made public in late October, saying airport security staff had violated standard procedures and those responsible would be prosecuted. It said it was conducting an investigation and would share the findings of the final report “in the very near future”. On Wednesday the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the report had not been received, three months later. “We are disappointed that the government of Qatar has so far not provided the Australian government with a report into the incident at Hamad International Airport,” Dfat said. “Dfat continues to engage regularly with Qatari authorities to seek updates on this matter.”<br/>