Qatar Files Complaint with ICAO over Al-Arabiya Report

TEHRAN (defapress)- Qatar filed a complaint before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), against what it calls attempts to "terrorise" travellers who are flying on its national flag carrier.

News ID: 65666

Date: 20 August 2017 - 14:56

In a letter sent to the Montreal-based United Nations agency on Saturday, Doha said the Saudi-led group that has imposed a blockade on Qatar has violated international law by broadcasting a news report showing the shooting down of a Qatar Airways passenger aircraft, Al-Jazeera reported.

The report aired by the Dubai-based Saudi channel Al-Arabiya TV "constitutes a clear and serious violation of international treaties and conventions, particularly the 1944 Chicago Convention, the international air traffic service agreement and international air law", the letter added.

Qatar asked the ICAO to "remind all member states that they are responsible for the safety of air traffic in their countries".

As the diplomatic feud between Doha and its Arab neighbors continues, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya TV has published a video showing a Saudi warplane downing a Qatari passenger plane, saying it’s an "option” for violating Riyadh’s airspace.

The animated video makes clear that Saudi Arabia would have the right to deal with a "violating plane” in "any way it wishes” under international law.

It begins by showing a less extreme scenario in which a commercial Qatar Airways flight is made to land by a Saudi fighter jet after entering the country’s airspace.

However, it goes on to show a deadly example in which the plane is shot down by a Saudi military plane with a missile.

"The options in this case either take the form of deploying a fighter jet that forces the plane to land whereby the flight crew are then tried on several charges,” the video states.

It goes on to say that "international law also allows states to shoot down any flight that violates a state’s airspace, classing it as a legitimate target, especially over military areas.”

The clip was posted on the website of Al-Arabiya and has been condemned on social media.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar early June, and suspended air and sea communication one week after the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.