Five Australian women who say they were strip-searched after being pulled off of a Qatar Airways flight nearly five years ago have won the right to sue the airline.
The ruling was handed down by three Australian appellate judges on Thursday. The women allege they were subjected to invasive examinations to see if they had recently given birth after a newborn baby was found abandoned at Doha’s Hamad Airport in October 2020.
After being escorted off their Sydney-bound flight by armed Qatari authorities, some women claimed they were made to take off their underwear and subjected to non-consensual gynecological inspections by a nurse in ambulances on the tarmac.
“Our clients endured a traumatic experience on that night in Doha, and they deserve to have their day in court and compensation for their suffering,” Damian Sturzaker, the lawyer from Marque Lawyers representing the women, said, according to Reuters.
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“We will continue to support them as the case continues in the Federal Court,” Sturzaker added.
Last year, Federal Court Justice John Halley dismissed the claims against Qatar Airways, finding they had no reasonable prospect of success. Along with the airline, the suit names airport operator MATAR and Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority as defendants. Halley had said that Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority qualified as a foreign state immune from Australian law.
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Thursday’s judgment allows the women to continue their lawsuit with claims of airline liability, negligence, assault and false imprisonment against Qatar Airways and MATAR.
The women are seeking damages for the impact on their mental health, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, stemming from “unlawful physical contact.”
“Whether or not the claims come within the scope of (the Montreal Convention) is a matter of some complexity,” the summary judgment ruling from Thursday said. “It is therefore not an issue apt to be decided at the stage of summary dismissal.”
Qatar Airways did not immediately respond to a FOX Business inquiry.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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