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A female World Cup official is facing a sentence of 100 lashes and up to seven years behind bars after complaining about being raped while working for the World Cup organizing committee in Qatar.
Paola Schietekat, 28, from Mexico, left Qatar after she was sexually assaulted – but allegations of her having an extramarital affair still stand.
The economist and anthropologist was working for the World Cup organizing committee when she alleged that she was raped by an associate who broke into her apartment and threatened to kill her.
She says she was injured by the attack, with her left arm, shoulder and back covered in bruises.
Paola reported the June 6, 2021, attack at the Mexican consult to the Qatari police who responded by accusing her of having an extramarital affair, according to local reports.
She said: “It was three hours of interrogation in Arabic, and at a certain point they demanded a virginity test.”
“For some reason, I had become the accused.”
The 2022 World Cup worker was later told by lawyers that one way of avoiding conviction was to marry her attacker.
When she was told this, she decided to leave the country’s capital Doha to return home and lose what she called her dream job.
She said: “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 admitted.
However, the charges against Paola are reportedly still valid, and she is set to be sentenced on March 6.
If convicted, the rape victim could be sentenced to 100 lashes and seven years behind bars.
Qatar has been embroiled in scandals as the World Cup approaches, with reports of thousands of migrant workers dying in the country since it was awarded the tournament in 2010 and stinging criticism of the government’s human rights record.
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced here with permission.
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