Dylan Bettencourt
A female World Cup official has fled Qatar as she fears getting a jail sentence and 100 lashes for extramarital sex.
This is after the Mexican official, Paola Schietekat, reported that her neighbour had raped her.
Schietekat was amongst the organising committee of this year’s Fifa World Cup until she had to flee the country following the rape allegations.
“I couldn’t believe what had happened,” Schietekat told Noticias Telemundo.
The 28-year-old said that her neighbour broke into her apartment last June and raped her. When she reported the incident to local authorities, she ended up being questioned about extramarital sex.
The alleged perpetrator claimed that he and Schietekat were in a relationship at the time, which she denied.
Schietekat provided evidence of her bruises from the incident to the police before staying at a hotel, out of fear that her attacker may return to her home. Hours later she was called and told to return to the station.
“Puzzled, I asked if it was necessary for a woman who had just been assaulted to go to the police station alone at that hour. His response was that if I didn’t go, my complaint would be dismissed,” she said.
When she went to the police station with a medical certificate, intending to press charges, the officers placed her in the same room as the alleged attacker as the investigation focused on the supposed extramarital affair.
In Qatar, charges relating to extramarital affairs are punishable by seven years in prison as well as up to 100 lashes, if the individual involved is Muslim.
While Schietekat is due to be sentenced next month in absentia as she returns to Mexico, the attacker has been set free.
“There were no cameras pointing directly at the door of the apartment, so there was no way to verify that the assault happened,” claimed the authorities.
The Mexican no longer works for Fifa, quitting her dream job upon fleeing home.
Image source: @NBCNews
