Australia Demands Answers After 13 Women Taken Off Qatar Airlines Flight Were Strip-Searched

The Australian government filed a complaint over “serious concerns” after 13 women were strip-searched and forced to undergo medical examinations before a Qatar Airlines flight from Doha to Sydney. The complaint was filed Sunday about the flight, which took place Oct. 2, the Guardian reports. All 34 passengers on board the flight from Doha to Sydney were questioned after a newborn infant was found abandoned in the Doha airport, but the 13 women were forced to strip down for a medical examination inside the airport after being forced to disembark. A doctor reportedly felt each woman’s uterus for signs she had just given birth. The women were then allowed back on the plane.

A spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the Guardian that they would be “seeking further information from the Qatari authorities and Qatar Airways” and that on Sunday they had “formally registered our serious concerns regarding the incident with Qatari authorities and have been assured that detailed and transparent information on the event will be provided soon.”