Two months ago, Eman al-Obeidy burst into the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli and told the assembled foreign press that she had been repeatedly raped by members of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi’s regime. She was then forcibly removed from the hotel by Qaddafi’s security forces and interrogated. This past weekend, al-Obeidy dramatically escaped Libya to Tunisia, with the help of a defecting military officer, hidden in traditional Libyan garb.
The officer drove al-Obeidy across the country to the Tunisian border at Dahibah disguised “in the local manner,” where she used refugee documents to enter the country. She was then taken into custody by European diplomats, who are providing her with sanctuary at an undisclosed embassy location in Tunis. Al-Obeidy admitted she was unsure of her next move, and stressed that she would like to see her family, but doubted that she would be able to go home anytime soon.
Alleged rape victim Eman al-Obeidy flees Libya [CNN]
