Qatar apologizes as Australia denounces that forced gynecological tests were performed on women from 10 flights

• Middle East. Several female passengers denounce "searches without clothes and invasive examinations" after the discovery of a newborn at Doha airport

Qatar sang the mea culpa on Wednesday for the forced gynecological examinations to which several women were subjected at the Doha airport to

abandoned

.

"Although the objective of these urgently decided examinations was to prevent the escape of the perpetrators of a horrible crime, the State of Qatar regrets the affliction or

that this action may have caused to the travelers," says a statement posted on a government website.

On 2 October, Doha airport agents

and then forced them to undergo gynecological examinations to find out if any of them had recently given birth, after the discovery of a newborn. born abandoned in the toilets.

Subsequently, Australian authorities claimed that

Qatar's Prime Minister

said in a statement that a "full and transparent" investigation will be carried out.

He added that Qatar was

and comfort of all passengers passing through the country."

The incident sparked a

between Doha and Australia, protesting the treatment of their citizens.

On Wednesday, it became known that the number of affected planes was greater than initially believed.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in parliament that women

were subjected to forced gynecological tests, a situation she described as "very disturbing" and "rude".

"We found out yesterday" through the Australian diplomatic mission in Doha, Payne said, adding that 18 women, 13 Australians, were affected, along with other "foreign nationals."

According to information from AFP,

aboard one of these planes is among the victims.

Blow to reputation

The Australian minister did not provide the destinations of the other affected flights.

Senior Australian officials say Canberra is in contact with other countries to jointly express their

But they declined to say which ones to respect the privacy of the victims.

Payne acknowledged that he had not spoken with his Qatari counterpart and said he wanted to "see the report" on the incident, scheduled this week.

This scandal could deal a blow to the efforts of the wealthy Gulf country to

before the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar, a small, gas-rich Gulf country, gained international prestige through investments in media, sports and culture.

In 2022, the emirate will be the first Arab country to host

With its ultra-modern fleet and luxury services, the national airline Qatar Airways is one of the most prestigious in the world and its reputation could also be affected by the incident, estimates

founder of Reputation Edge, an image consultancy.

Australia is a very important market for Qatar Airways.

Before the covid-19 pandemic, the airline flew to

At the worst moment of the crisis, he even bragged about having

when his rivals had the fleet immobilized on land.

In Qatar, officially,

.

The conservative Muslim monarchy tries to silence criticism of violations of rights and freedoms.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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