Alwaght- Qatar has filed a complaint before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) after Saudi TV aired a simulated video showing one of its airforce fighter planes firing a missile at a Qatari civilian jet.
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.
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 said.
Qatar asked the ICAO to "remind all member states that they are responsible for the safety of air traffic in their countries".
The Al Arabiya report, which aired on August 9, claimed that international law allows countries to take down any plane that enters its airspace, since it can be defined as a "hostile target".
In an apparent overt threat to the fellow Persian Gulf nation, a voiceover in the graphic animation says that the Saudi authorities have “the right to shoot down” any aircraft that enters their airspace.
The simulated video of the fighter jet downing a Qatar Airways civilian plane is apparently meant to scare off would-be passengers from flying with the country’s national airline.
Since 5 June, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, which they accuse of supporting what they call extremist groups, including Palestinian Hamas resistance movement and the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as having close ties with neighboring Iran.
Qatar has defended itself against the accusation saying the groups are not extremist, while insisting on having good ties with Iran.
The Saudi-led block later issued demands that Qatar must meet before ties are restored including curtailing its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shutting down the al-Jazeera TV channel, closing a Turkish military base in Doha and downgrading its ties with neighboring Iran. Qatar rejected the demands arguing they are illogical and infringe on its sovereignty.
