Eman al-Obeidi forced to return to Libya
Lindsey Hilsum
International Editor
The Libyan woman who grabbed the world’s attention after accusing Gaddafi’s forces of raping her is forcibly returned to Benghazi. She had escaped to Qatar and was seeking asylum to a third country.
She pleaded with the authorities in Qatar not to make her go, but they ignored her cries. Handcuffed and muscled onto a plane, Eman al-Obeidi was forced to leave her refuge in Qatar last night and return to Libya.
Accepted as refugee by the UNHCR, she was awaiting resettlement to a third country. The UNHCR has told Channel 4 News that within hours, Ms al-Obeidi and her parents were due to fly to Romania, where they would be accomodated in an emergency processing centre before going to their eventual country of refuge. But she was instead sent to Benghazi, in rebel-held eastern Libya.
Eman al-Obeidi came to prominence on 26 March, when she rushed into the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli, weeping and screaming, to tell journalists that 15 of Col Gaddafi’s militia had gang raped her – she says it was a punishment for being from the east of the country. Journalists, including Channel 4 News’ Jonathan Miller, tried to protect her but she was bundled into a car and driven away. Not, however, before her case had become world famous as an example of the alleged brutality of the Libyan government.
She escaped to Tunisia, and after diplomatic intervention by the Qatari government, was allowed to go to Doha, where Jonathan Miller interviewed her last month. She appeared traumatized and confused, terrified of going back to Libya, desperately in need of the counselling and support most rape survivors need to recover from their ordeal.
“Forcibly returning a refugee who survived gang rape not only violates international law, but is cruel and could trigger further trauma,” said Bill Frelick, refugee program director at Human Rights Watch.”
The Transitional National Council in Benghazi says its members did not force her to return, and she is free to leave. Other reports suggest that she may have angered some members of the TNC by accusing them of failing to help her. Ms al-Obeidi, who is reportedly now in hiding, told CNN that she was beaten by the Qatari guards who bundled her onto the plane.
Ms al-Obeidi’s case has garnered worldwide sympathy, with a Facebook page set up to support her.