Brisbane, Australia
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Five Australian women have obtained the right to sue Qatar Airways. Doha Airport Tarmac exams in 2020 after federal courts upheld their appeal.
The woman whose identity remains confidential was one of dozens of female passengers who were removed from the flight and exposed to physical examinations, according to her lawyers after the abandoned newborn was discovered at Hamad International Airport.
At the time, the Qatar government said the measures were taken after it was discovered that the baby girl was wrapped in plastic and buried in trash in a “shocking and horrifying attempt to kill her.”
Authorities said they acted to prevent “perpetrators” from leaving the country and apologized for the pain caused by passengers.
The incident sparked international outrage and was accused by the then Australian Foreign Minister of Japan as “a series of events that are violently disturbing and offensive.”
It is not yet clear how many women in total have been tested. Five Australian women were among 13 people surveyed from one Qatar Airways 908 flight 908 bound to Sydney. At the time, an Australian government spokesman said as many as 10 flights had been affected.
In a unanimous ruling on Thursday, three Australian federal court judges found that the former judge had made the mistake by “instantly dismissing” the relevance of the Montreal Convention.
“Our clients are excited about the outcome,” said Damian Sturzaker of Marque Lawyers, their lawyer.
“They are really continuing not only with what happened that night, but with the fact that there were no apology, no compensation, and the fact that it’s been happening for years by a series of state entities,” he said.
Article 17 of the Montreal Convention states that carriers are liable for damages or injuries sustained by passengers on the aircraft, or are liable for or under the time they are in and out of or out of.
The original judge found that in this case it did not apply. However, the female lawyer argues that “the journey never ended.”
“(Our client) was removed from the plane at a muzzle by an ambulance that was under the wing of the plane, where our group had an invasive physical examination on the plane,” Starzerker said.
“So of course, the journey was never finished and they were still from and were looking down.”
He said his client is pursuing a negligent claim against Qatar Airways. CNN contacted Qatar Airways.
The woman also sought to bring about negligence, assault, false imprisonment and battery charges against the airport operator, Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA).
The ruling on Thursday put an end to their actions against the QCAA, but allowed them to coordinate aspects of their lawsuit against Matal. Sturzaker said the reasons for the QCAA decision will be considered and see if there is scope for seeking leave to appeal before Australia’s high court.
CNN reached out to lawyers acting for QCAA and MATAR.
Sturzaker said it is still unknown who ordered the search, and that would be in the information that lawyers are seeking when building their case.
“We don’t have complete insight into the level of responsibility. That’s one of the things we’re trying to decide when the case moves forward, as many of the documents we were sought weren’t provided.”
“We expect further evidence to strengthen the group’s cases against Qatar Airways and Matar,” he added.
After the incident, Qatar prosecutors said an unspecified number of airport security guards who are responsible for conducting exams on female passengers have been charged.
In the same statement, prosecutors said the baby’s mother was identified and charged with attempted murder. She left the country and was described as “Asian” nationality only.
In Qatar, genders other than marriage are still criminal. It is not uncommon for women to abandon their children to avoid prison terms.
Sturzaker described Qatar’s response to finding an abandoned baby as “unbalancedly different.”
“That’s not something you’ve seen at the airport you generally want to travel to,” he said.
The case is scheduled to go to trial next year.
