Sky NewsTripoli Shock: Minders Snatch 'Rape Victim'
Lisa Holland, foreign affairs correspondent
A shocking scene occurred in Tripoli on Saturday when a gun was pointed at Sky News after a woman tried to tell foreign journalists about being raped and tortured by Libyan officials.
New York TimesLibyan Woman Struggles to Tell Media of Her Rape
TRIPOLI, Libya — A Libyan woman burst into the hotel housing the foreign press in Tripoli on Saturday morning in an attempt to tell journalists that she had been raped and beaten by members of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s militia. After struggling for nearly an hour to resist removal by Colonel Qaddafi’s security forces, she was dragged away from the hotel screaming.
Update: I just read on CNN.com that a government spokesman says the woman is "safe". As I said above, I hope some news outlet follows this story closely.
CNNLater, a government spokesman said al-Obeidy was "safe" and "doing well." He said her case was a criminal one -- not political -- and that she has been offered legal aid.
But his assurances did little to assure the journalists who had witnessed Gadhafi's firm and pervasive grip on Libyan society. A woman who dared to speak against him was quickly silenced. Journalists who dared to tell her story paid a price.
It was one tale that perhaps went a long way in illuminating the need to protect Libya's people.
Edited by Morpium, 27 March 2011 - 12:14 AM.
