Australian women lose bid to sue Qatar Airways over 2020 strip searches
Al Jazeera
Judge dismisses case because women not searched on the aircraft, says they could seek damages from the airport operator.
A group of Australian women who were strip-searched at Doha’s main international airport have lost a legal bid against Qatar Airways.
In early October 2020, the female passengers were ordered to disembark their flight to Sydney and subjected to gynaecological examinations to check whether they had given birth.
The body searches were part of an investigation into the whereabouts of the mother of a newborn baby who was found abandoned in a plastic bag in a bin at a toilet in one of the terminals of Hamad International Airport.
The women later launched legal action seeking damages over alleged “unlawful physical contact”, false imprisonment and mental health impacts.
An Australian court on Thursday dismissed the case because the women were not searched on board the aircraft, citing a well-worn international convention covering airline liability.
