HIA Incident: Airport police charged over invasive search, but questions remain

The mother has been identified, but information about her whereabouts or if victims of the search have been contacted by officials has not been disclosed.

Police officers who ordered the invasive search of more than a dozen women passengers on a Qatar Airways flight to Australia are going to face “penalties of a maximum of three years in jail” according to Qatari authorities.

The news came in an update by Qatar’s Public Prosecution office on Monday regarding the horrific incident that took place at the Hamad International Airport (HIA) which involved the attempted murder of a newborn infant last month.

However, the Public Prosecution office did not say what exact crimes were committed by the police officers, how many officers are going to face charges, what their ranks are or details of the penalties they are going to face.

Qatar’s Public Prosecution office has also revealed that investigators have identified the mother of the baby girl that was abandoned at HIA, the woman is accused of trying to kill her daughter just moments after giving birth to her in an airport bathroom.

Although the Qatari prosecution body did mention that the father and the mother are from an “Asian nationality”, the statement did not disclose further information regarding the specific nationality of the parents or their whereabouts.

The statement mentioned that the attempted murder of the baby girl is punishable under the Qatari Penal Code with a maximum penalty of fifteen years in prison. However, there is no information on the Asian country’s penal codes that would reveal how the country is going to carry out the prosecution of the “fugitive” or if there is an extradition agreement between that country and Qatar.

Despite the several updates that the Public Prosecution office disclosed, there was no mention of when the investigation is going to be concluded and when its findings will be made public as promised by the government a few weeks ago.

As a result of the incident, thirteen Australian women, among others, were reportedly taken off a Qatar Airways flight and subjected to a thorough physical examination.

Although Qatari officials repeatedly and publicly condemned the incident and apologised to all the women affected, the Australian women have said that they reportedly did not receive a direct apology.

According to the Guardian, the group of women from Australia say they have not received any financial compensation for the ordeal or calls from Doha since the incident took place.