Mother of abandoned baby identified

If found, the woman could face up to 15 years in jail

Qatari authorities say they’ve identified the parents of the baby that was abandoned at Hamad International Airport last month.

Investigations revealed that the father and the mother are both nationals of an Asian country. The mother, while leaving Doha, gave birth and dumped the baby in a trash can in one of the toilets in the departures terminal, after initially putting the newborn in an sealing it in an apparent attempted murder. She then proceeded to board a flight.

Qatar’s Public Prosecution says the woman had sent a message and an image of the new-born to the child’s father, who has since admitted to their relationship. The message informed him that she had discarded the baby and was fleeing to her home country.

The public prosecution conducted DNA checks and found that the DNA of the baby was identical to that of the parents.

Investigators have said that the crime of attempted murder is punishable by fifteen years behind bars and they are taking action to arrest “the fugtive.”

The immediate aftermath following the discovery of the abandoned baby led to thirteen Australian women, among others, being reportedly taken off a Qatar Airways flight and subjected to a thorough physical examination.

The issue came under the global spotlight on October 25, sparking local and international outrage.

Qatar has since profusely apologised for the violation of women’s rights and has said that “some employees of the Airport Security Department acted unilaterally by summoning female medical staff to conduct external examination to some female passengers,” according to a statement by the Public Prosecution.

Officials have said that the actions taken by authorities at the airport are against the law and punishable under the Qatari Penal Code with penalties of a maximum of three years.