Mexican, sentenced to receive 100 lashes for denouncing sexual abuse in Qatar, 9 months before the FIFA World Cup | Soccer | sports

For the first time in its history, Qatar will open its doors to the entire world as the next World Cup will be held in that nation. A few months after the start of the most important soccer tournament, the entity on the Asian continent was the target of criticism after the Mexican Paola Schietekat Sedas was sentenced to 100 lashes.

The woman born in Mexico had complicated moments, since she reported sexual abuse, but went from being a victim to being accused. For the site called Question, the compatriot recounted everything she suffered during the last months in the World Cup country and also with the authorities of that country, published daily ACE from Spain.

“I don’t understand how to have been so happy in a country that, although it is difficult to live as a woman, I had no problem. And become a victim now, worse, a sentenced and not be able to return to the life that I had formed. I feel like I don’t know what else to do, I don’t know where to go. I feel in limbo, ”she commented for Question.

On June 6, 2021, Schietekat suffered gender-based violence from a person of Colombian origin, whom she considered a friend.

The Mexican revealed that the South American man entered her apartment without her consent, this surprised Paola and called the police, but moments before the authorities arrived they struggled and he hit her a few times.

From victim she became the accused and sentenced

Paola Schietekat, an economist by profession, arrived in these distant lands in 2021 to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the body responsible for organizing the great sporting event that represents the 2022 Soccer World Cup in Qatar.

Under a text entitled “A world that seems to hate women”, he made known the fate that he lived in the Arab country, through the publication made by the journalist Julio Astillero, on February 8, the newspaper reviewed. The country.

The terror of her life began when instead of obtaining a judicial process that would punish the man who raped her, she became the accused and sentenced.

“They demanded a virginity test from me and that’s when I realized that everything had gotten complicated because they had already assumed that I had a relationship with this man,” he explained.

It is worth mentioning that having an extramarital relationship is a crime in Qatar, which can be punished with up to ten years in prison and in his case, being a member of Islam, can be aggravated and be subjected to 100 lashes.

Likewise, Paola Schietekat revealed that one of the solutions they gave her was that she marry her aggressor, since that way there would be no extramarital crime.

“The Supreme Committee helped me get out of the country. My phone no longer mattered. I had recorded testimonies and sent them to Human Rights Watch, which they would publish if I was arrested. I had never breathed with more relief than when my passport was stamped. In Mexico the adrenaline stopped and a slower process began, although just as complex and painful, ”she said.

On the other hand, Marcelo Ebrad, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, made it clear that they will not leave Schietekat alone and will support her. “I thanked Paola for her visit and her conversation. The Legal Consultant of the SRE, our best lawyer, will be in charge of defending her and that all her rights as a Mexican citizen are respected. I recognized her bravery and her resolve,” he wrote on her Twitter account. (D)