Australia demands Qatari report on 'grossly disturbing' airport body searches

Federal police officers have started contacting Australian women who were subject to invasive body searches at Doha airport, as the Australian government requested Qatari authorities hand down a detailed report on the incident before the end of the week.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne phoned Qatar's ambassador to Australia, Saad Abdulla AL-Mahmoud on Monday afternoon, telling him Australia held serious concerns about the incident affecting passengers on a flight from Doha to Sydney on October 2.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Australia is taking the incident "extremely seriously" and has taken it up directly with Qatari authorities in Canberra and Doha.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Senator Payne told the ambassador Qatari authorities needed to complete the investigation urgently and Australia expected to be given the findings before the week was out.

She did not summon him to Parliament House due to COVID-19 restrictions on foreign representatives in the building while it is sitting.

"This is a grossly disturbing, offensive, concerning set of events. It is not something I have ever heard of occurring in my life in any context," Senator Payne said.

The Australian Federal Police has reached out to some of the 13 Australian women who were subjected to invasive physical searches without their consent this month after airport terminal staff in Doha discovered a premature baby abandoned in a bathroom. Five women from other countries were also searched, according to Australian government sources.

The AFP hasn't yet launched an official investigation into the matter, during which it is alleged Qatari authorities forced the women to remove their underwear for a genital examination in an ambulance on the tarmac.

A female passenger who spoke to the ABC on the condition of anonymity said she was with a group of about six women who were taken to an ambulance outside the airport, where a woman with a mask waited to examine them.

"She told me to pull my pants down and that I needed to examine my vagina," the passenger told the ABC.

"I said 'I'm not doing that' and she did not explain anything to me. She just kept saying, 'we need to see it we need to see it'."

Another woman told the ABC that no one spoke English or told them what was going on when they were forced off the plane and into the waiting ambulances.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which is the lead agency looking into the incident, is also interviewing the women.

Senator Payne first contacted Qatar's ambassador on October 6, four days after the incident, to register Australia's concerns.

She said on Monday Australia was taking the incident "extremely seriously" and had taken it up directly with Qatari authorities in Canberra and Doha.

'This is a grossly disturbing, offensive, concerning set of events.'

Foreign Minister Marise Payne

Asked whether the women were subject to sexual assault, Senator Payne said: "I'm not suggesting that because I have not seen the detailed report of the set of events."

"But in terms of the consent to a physical examination by medical professionals – that does raise significant concerns," she said.

The 13 women completed a fortnight of hotel quarantine on their arrival in Sydney and have since returned to their homes.

Sydney lawyer Wolfgang Babeck, returning to Australia from Germany on the 42-person flight, said most of those on the plane were in transit from locations in western Europe.

Dr Babeck said one of the women searched was a mother travelling with her two children. Some of the women were travelling with partners, while others were alone.

"Obviously some were upset, some were angry ... one was also crying," he said of when the women were brought back into the cabin.

He said the plane's staff did not appear to know what had occurred.

"We all spoke with the aeroplane's staff but they were not informed; it was not very transparent."

A statement from Hamad Airport said the baby remained unidentified but was safe and receiving care.

Amnesty International national director Sam Klintworth said there were a number of serious questions for the Australian government to answer considering the incident occurred weeks ago.

"There must be an independent investigation into the events that took place if we are to ever get a truly transparent account of what occurred and to establish unequivocally who is responsible and hold them to account for this gross breach of these women's rights," she said.

Melonie Sheehan, the governance and stakeholder manager at specialist trauma counselling service 1800RESPECT, said the incident was "clearly offensive and grossly inappropriate".

She said it appeared the women could not freely consent to the examination, which was an abuse of power.

"There was no option for them to say no," Ms Sheehan said.

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