The Qatari prosecutor said in a statement on Monday that an indefinite number of airport security staff responsible for conducting the investigation of female passengers had been charged and could face up to three years in prison.
The prosecutor said he also charged the mother of the child who had left the country with attempted murder and instituted court proceedings for his arrest. A mother who is only described as “of Asian nationality” could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, the statement said.
It is believed that the mother once boarded and departed from a flight departing from Qatar after leaving the baby at the airport. The statement did not state where he had traveled.
Following the discovery of the baby, the airport security service subjected more than 18 women from 10 different flights to a mandatory intimate medical examination, including 13 Australian men on board an aircraft bound for Sydney.
According to the Qatari statement, the investigation of the case revealed that “some employees” of Hamad International Airport had “acted unilaterally” to call in female medical staff to examine female passengers.
“(It was believed) that what they did was in accordance with the law,” the prosecution said in a statement on Monday.
The statement did not state what crimes were committed or how many employees were charged.
The Qatari government issued a statement on 28 October apologizing for the “anxiety or violation of the personal liberty of all travelers” as a result of the incident.
The parents identified
According to the prosecutor’s statement, the investigations revealed that the mother was related to an unnamed man “a man also of Asian nationality”. The statement added that “as a result of this relationship, the child was born.”
In Qatar, extramarital sex remains a crime. It is not uncommon for women to leave their children to avoid imprisonment.
The child’s father told Qatari prosecutors that the mother sent a message and picture of the child immediately after giving birth, saying she had “thrown (away) the child and fled to her country.”
“While leaving the country, the mother threw the newborn child in the trash of one of the bathrooms in the airport departure hall and boarded the plane to its destination,” the statement said.
It is not clear from the statement when and where the mother gave birth or how the authorities were able to find and identify the man.
“A crime involving the attempted murder of an infant immediately after birth and under the circumstances in which it was found is one of the most heinous crimes and the most contrary to human values. It is punishable by the Qatari Penal Code, up to fifteen years.”
Further Reuters report.
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