Alleged Libya rape victim charged over claim

TRIPOLI, Libya - A Libyan government spokesman says the woman who burst into a hotel to tell foreign journalists how she was gang raped by Muammar Qaddafi's troops will face criminal charges.

Moussa Ibrahim said on Tuesday the men accused by Iman al-Obeidi have filed a case against her, calling her accusations a "grave offense."

Iman al-Obeidi made headlines when she rushed distraught into a Tripoli hotel on Saturday, seeking to tell foreign reporters about her rape. She was tackled by waitresses and government minders and dragged away from the site in an ensuing melee.

The Qaddafi regime and a woman violated

In interviews broadcast Monday on satellite Al-Jazeera Television, al-Obeidi's parents said their daughter was being held by Qaddafi's forces at a government compound in Tripoli, countering government claims that she had been set free. (Watch interview clip below).

Later Monday, Amnesty International called on Qaddafi's regime to release the woman. The human rights group called the woman's account "stomach-churning" and called on authorities to launch "an independent and impartial investigation."

Al-Obeidi had told foreign media on Saturday that she was detained by a number of Qaddafi troops at a Tripoli checkpoint on Wednesday. She said they were drinking whiskey and handcuffed her. She said 15 men later raped her. Al-Obeidi's claims could not be independently verified, but she showed the media wounds she said she suffered at their hands.

Complete coverage: Anger in the Arab World
Libyan claims rape by soldiers, is dragged away

Stunned reporters watched as al-Obeidi was quickly tackled by government minders, waitresses waving knives, and other hotel staff. Journalists who tried to protect her were beaten.

Al-Obeidi was dragged out of the hotel and driven away. CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips, who witnessed the scene, wrote that some reporters who tried recording the melee had their cameras smashed.

Libyan authorities have alternately labeled al-Obeidi a drunk, a prostitute and a thief.

[re4sel]

Wherever God has placed you, he can use you to speak his truth - words of love, justice and faith to a lost world - even if it means being misunderstood or ridiculed. Yes, it may be difficult and you may be weary; but, sister, "never tire of doing what is right." You sister, in love and in God, prays for your safe return and that justice will be done.

[sailhardy1]

Who knows? It can happen that Khaddafy is right. Perhaps the girl is lying. Recall the lynch gang hollering for the skins of the Duke lacrosse players who were falsely accused of rape. And who can forget the ridiculous spectacle of the racist insect, Al Sharpton, demanding punishment of a man whose accuser had recanted? True, given the misogyny of Islam and the nature of the Khaddafy regime, sympathy starts with the woman. However, some women do lie.

[diamruby]

This is how this "religious" culture treats the women in their country, the men are worse than animals & must punish women for their inability to control their animal lust for sex & abuse. But as you know they live in the dark ages using a book of "myths" to guide them. How sad that the women in these countries are subject to abuse from not only men but from women who have been brainwashed from birth to believe the evil ways that their "book" teaches. "Religion" the word for greed, power & lust that justifies anything they choose to do. I hope some day the women in these countries living under the "dark ages" rules will join together to also demand equal rights & the freedom that all are entitled to.

[AnnieDanny]

I see almost NO concern for a woman in trouble, in these comments. Don't get me started on what I think about y'all...

[Empire--George---]

by DidHeSayThat March 29, 2011 2:18 PM EDT
Guess CBS didn't both to post the story of the little girls gang raped in LA or Texas lately.... DID THEY?

___________

Does the story further the liberal democrat agenda ? Yes ? then they will run it.....If No, the story is buried.

See this rape story helps the Obama Libya cause, so they run it, and run it again, and then how she was prosecuted, then raped, then raped again.....get the picture.

[Empire--George---]

by credibility2 March 29, 2011 11:32 AM EDT
...this is how Islam deals with issues like this...it's always the victim's fault...Sharia Law reigns supreme in Islam...

_____________________________

While liberal democrats welcome Sharia law with open arms.....heck, they'll even open up a mosque for you on the exact site of the bones of the 9/11 responders, they want it so bad.

[ge556]

That's clearly a lie, Empire. I can't say that no Democrats support Sharia law, but it's certainly well under 1%. Sharia is against everything Democrats stand for.
And the mosque is not a project of liberal Democrats, it's a product of Moslems, who already have a mosque at that site. Your claim is clearly a distortion of the facts.

[credibility2]

...this is how Islam deals with issues like this...it's always the victim's fault...Sharia Law reigns supreme in Islam...

[tsigili]

The problem with many of these kinds of stories, is there are no independent witnesses.

While we can certainly sympathize if it is true, we also have to be aware of how easy an accusation that is to make, without any real proof, for political purposes, etc.

I await some independent witness, to verify the claim, or at least provide some good reason to believe it.