Qatar frees Dutch woman after rape report

A Dutch woman held in Qatar for nearly three months after telling police she had been raped has been released after receiving a one-year suspended prison sentence for adultery for having sex out of wedlock.

The 22-year-old woman was in the care of the Dutch Embassy after a brief court hearing in Doha, the Qatari capital which will host the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

Her case has raised new questions ahead of the tournament, which likely will draw tens of thousands of Western tourists unfamiliar with the Islamic-based legal codes that govern the small peninsular nation.