Speaking at a hearing in the Australian Senate on Wednesday morning, Australian Foreign Minister Mary Payne said 13 Passing through Qatar on 2 October, the Australian nationals were removed from flights and forced to undergo “massively inappropriate” observations.
It was not clear how many women were discovered in total. A spokeswoman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs told CNN that there were also 13 Australians among 18 women on one flight. Nine other flight women were also given aggressive internal examinations, according to the spokesperson.
The plane involved was Sydney-bound Qatar Airways Flight 908, which landed for a transit stop in Doha, Qatar that day, CNN-affiliated Nine News reported.
Penn said Australia is not the only country whose citizens have been affected, but did not mention what other countries were involved.
Speaking at the same hearing, Australian Australian Labor Party Senator Penny Wang described the discovery as “aggressive.”
Although the exact details of the incident have not been disclosed, CNN-affiliated Seven News previously reported that the women were “forced to inspect the ambulance on the tarmac.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the incident “horrific” and “unacceptable”.
“As a father of daughters, I can only shudder at the thought that any woman, Australian Australian or other, would be subjected to it,” Morrison said. “It’s important that where passengers travel, they’re able to be free from those kinds of events.”
The search was launched at Hamad International Airport following the discovery of a newborn baby wrapped in a plastic bag and abandoned in a trash can, the Qatari government said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The baby turned out to be a shocking and horrific attempt to kill her. The infant is now safe under medical treatment in Doha,” the statement said.
Hamad International Airport, where the incident took place, had earlier confirmed the baby’s whereabouts and said medical professionals were “concerned about the condition and well-being of the mother who had just given birth and requested that she be located before leaving.” )
The Qatari government’s statement also defended the “urgent decision” in the mother’s search, but said the purpose was to “prevent the perpetrators of the heinous crime from escaping.”
The statement added, “The State of Qatar regrets any inconvenience or violation of the personal liberties of any passenger arising from this action.”
Penn said the Qatari Australian government has asked Qatar for a full report on the incident.
Passengers on flight QR908, Wolfgang Bebeck, told CNN that there was a “very tense atmosphere” on the plane when the women were returning from Tamarak.
“One woman was crying,” he said. “No one can believe what happened to other people who were shocked by the shell. It was such a private and delicate issue. You don’t want people to share it.”
He said the women “left the plane in good faith” following the crew’s instruction.
The Australian government said it had referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police, who told CNN they were liaising with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The story has been updated to show that 13 Australian passengers were involved in the incident.
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