Australian court rules women can sue over Qatar strip-search ordeal

A group of Australian women strip-searched after boarding a Qatar Airways flight in Doha won a court victory Thursday that paves the way for them to sue the airline.

In an incident that sparked international outrage, Qatari authorities pulled women off 10 planes in Doha in 2020 and forced them to take invasive gynaecological exams.

Authorities were hunting for the mother of a newborn found abandoned in an airport bathroom.

Five Australian women caught up in the ordeal lodged legal action against Qatar Airways, claiming they were assaulted and falsely imprisoned.

Australia's Federal Court last year ruled they could not directly sue the airline.

But that decision was reversed Thursday on appeal, with three Federal Court judges stating the case should be heard at trial.

Australia's government cited the incident as a reason to block Qatar Airways from operating more flights into the country.

Qatar's then prime minister, Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, at the time offered his "sincerest apologies for what some female travellers went through".