Earlier this week, Qatar's Government Communications Office (GCO) confirmed that His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani had directed to launch a comprehensive, transparent investigation into an incident that happened at Hamad International Airport (HIA) recently.

The incident involved the abandonment of a newborn baby who was left "in a trash can, concealed in a plastic bag, buried under garbage" at the airport, the GCO had mentioned.

The baby was rescued from "what appeared to be a shocking and appalling attempt to kill her."

Following this, an immediate search for the parents, including on flights in the vicinity of where the newborn was found, was launched. The search operations included examining a number of female passengers at the airport.

Today, the GCO revealed the preliminary findings of the investigation stating that "standard procedures were violated."

تعبر دولة قطر عن أسفها العميق واعتذارها عما تعرضت له بعض المسافرات من تجربة مؤلمة جرّاء الإجراءات المتخذة أثناء البحث في حادثة الشروع في قتل رضيعة في المطار.

نؤكد أن هذه التجاوزات الأولى من نوعها تتعارض مع القوانين والقيم القطرية، وقد تمت إحالة المسؤولين عنها للنيابة العامة. https://t.co/V3kttXi2wd

— لولوة الخاطر Lolwah Alkhater (@Lolwah_Alkhater) October 30, 2020

"Those responsible for these violations and illegal actions have been referred to the Public Prosecution Office," the GCO statement added.

In a tweet, HE the PM regretted 'the unacceptable treatment of the female passengers at HIA.'

He further assured that Qatar will hold those responsible for these acts to account.

We regret the unacceptable treatment of the female passengers at HIA. I assure you that we will hold those responsible for these acts to account. What took place does not represent Qatar’s laws or values. We will undertake all measures to prevent a recurrence.

— خالد بن خليفة آل ثاني (@KBKAlThani) October 30, 2020

"What took place does not represent Qatar’s laws or values. We will undertake all measures to prevent a recurrence," HE the PM stated.

The GCO statement also highlighted the "Government of the State of Qatar’s sincerest apology for what some female travelers went through as a result of the measures."

The statement further mentioned that this was the first of its kind incident at HIA, "which has served tens of millions of passengers without any issues like this before."

What happened is wholly inconsistent with Qatar’s culture and values. "Qatar is fully committed to the safety and security of all travelers arriving to or transiting through HIA."

The full GCO statement is available here. 

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