Al-Obeidi: I Was Interrogated for 72 Hours

Libyan who charged rape speaks to reporters after disappearance
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 4, 2011 1:55 PM CDT
Libyan Alleged Rape Victim Iman al-Obeidi: I Was Interrogated for 72 Hours
A Ministry of Information official removes Iman Al-Obeidi, who said she spent two days in detention after being arrested at a checkpoint in Tripoli, Libya.   (AP Photo/Albert Facelly, Sipa Press)

A Libyan woman who accused Gadhafi loyalists of rape spoke to CNN today after going missing last week. After authorities hauled Iman al-Obeidi away from reporters, she says she was aggressively questioned for 72 hours, with interrogators tossing food at her and dumping water on her face. “They did not give me a chance to respond.” She’s since been released, she said, and has stayed with family in Tripoli, but can’t go outside without being chased and “mentally tortured” by officials.

When al-Obeidi exits the house, authorities arrest her but can’t keep her at the police station because she hasn’t been charged with a crime, she said. She added that her reputation had been destroyed by official statements labeling her a drunken, mentally ill prostitute. Her father told CNN today that he didn’t know where she was; the government has reiterated that she’s been released and authorities don’t know her whereabouts. (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)

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