A feminine World Cup official is dealing with a sentence of 100 lashes and 7 years in jail for ‘extramarital intercourse’ after she reported being raped whereas working in Qatar.
Paola Schietekat, 28, from Mexico, was working for the World Cup organising committee when she complained that she was raped by an affiliate who broke into her condominium and threatened to kill her.
She reported the June 6, 2021 assault to the Qatari authorities, which responded by accusing her of getting an affair and charged her with ‘extramarital intercourse’, which is prohibited within the Gulf state.
Schietekat was advised by legal professionals that a technique of avoiding conviction was to marry her attacker however as a substitute determined to flee the nation, forsaking what she referred to as her ‘dream job’.
The fees in opposition to Schietekat, who’s a behavioural economist, are nonetheless legitimate and he or she is anticipated to be sentenced in absentia on March 6.
Paola Schietekat, 28, from Mexico, was working for the Qatar World Cup organising committee when she complained she was raped by an affiliate who broke into her condominium and threatened to kill he
Schietekat reported the June 6, 2021 assault to the Qatari authorities, which responded by accusing her of getting an affair and charged her with ‘extramarital intercourse’, which is prohibited within the Gulf state
Schietekat has claimed that Qatar, which would be the first Arab state to host the FIFA World Cup in November 2022, cares extra about defending the attacker than the rape sufferer
Schietekat, writing on Julio Astillero, defined the attacker was capable of acquire entry to her condominium in Doha as a result of it is not uncommon for residents to depart their doorways unlocked and depend on the safety of the constructing.
The person, who Schietekat mentioned she thought-about a buddy, allegedly managed to wrestle her to the ground and rape her, leaving her arms, shoulders and again coated in bruises.
Schietekat mentioned she took footage of the scene and documented what had occurred on her telephone earlier than fleeing her dwelling and spending the night time in a lodge, fearing her attacker would return.
The next morning she acquired a medical certificates and, with an official from the Mexican consul in Doha, reported the alleged rape to Qatari police utilizing her restricted Arabic.
Police requested whether or not she wished a restraining order in opposition to the attacker or to press prison expenses in opposition to him.
Schietekat advised police she wished to press expenses and signed an announcement in Arabic to the impact, giving officers the title and particulars of the person.
Nevertheless, hours later, round 9pm, she was referred to as and advised to return to the station the place she was put in entrance of the person she had accused and questioned for 3 hours in Arabic.
The alleged attacker had advised police that he and Schietekat had been in a relationship, so officers requested to take a look at her telephone to seek out proof of intimacy, which she denied.
Police then requested her to bear a virginity take a look at, accusing Schietekat of extramarital relations, earlier than recommending the case to the general public prosecutor’s workplace to carry expenses in opposition to her.
The fees in opposition to Schietekat, who’s a behavioural economist, are nonetheless legitimate and he or she is anticipated to be sentenced in absentia on March 6 (pictured, Al-Rayyan Stadium the place some Qatar 2022 matches might be performed)
Schietekat was advised by legal professionals that a technique of avoiding conviction was to marry her attacker however as a substitute determined to flee the nation, forsaking what she referred to as her ‘dream job’ organising the World Cup
Her attacker was acquitted on expenses of assault as a result of ‘there have been no cameras pointing immediately on the door of the condominium, so there was no approach to confirm that the assault occurred’, Schietekat mentioned.
She was then warned by legal professionals that one of many solely methods to keep away from a conviction could be to marry her alleged attacker.
Schietekat selected to flee the nation as a substitute, forsaking what she later described as her ‘dream job’ and was helped out of Doha by the World Cup committee.
‘I had by no means breathed with extra reduction than when my passport was stamped,’ she wrote. ‘In Mexico the adrenaline stopped and a slower course of started, though simply as complicated and painful.’
She has since claimed that Qatar, which would be the first Arab state to host the FIFA World Cup in November 2022, cares extra about defending the attacker than the rape sufferer.
She additionally revealed she was beforehand raped when she was 17 however that she didn’t converse out concerning the ordeal on the time, as she defined why she selected to go public with the allegation.
Schietekat has spoken out over the ordeal, telling El Pais: ‘The guts of the matter is not what we are able to or can not do on the Qatari legal guidelines, as Qatar is a sovereign state. We can’t be capable of change it, however the valences of Mexican establishments is one thing that may get higher and that we are able to demand it as a society.’
The 28-year-old accused the ‘cynical’ worldwide group of constant to again Gulf states embroiled in allegations of ‘flagrant human rights abuses’.
‘And not using a agency stance on the a part of the worldwide group, draconian, retrograde and even absurd legal guidelines will discover a bit gap to proceed justifying themselves, within the shadow of main sporting or cultural occasions,’ she wrote.
She additionally attacked the Mexican international ministry for failing to guard its 600 residents residing in Qatar, particularly in opposition to gender-based violence.
Since publishing her account, Schietekat has met with Mexico’s Overseas Minister Marcelo Ebrard who introduced the state would offer her with authorized illustration ‘guaranteeing that each one her rights as a Mexican citizen are revered.’
Qatar has been embroiled in scandals because the World Cup approaches, with studies of hundreds of migrant employees dying within the nation because it was awarded the match in 2010 and stinging criticism of the federal government’s human rights file.
Qatar has been embroiled in scandals because the World Cup approaches, with studies of hundreds of migrant employees dying within the nation because it was awarded the match in 2010 and stinging criticism of the federal government’s human rights file
