Iman al-Obeidi: Difference between revisions
BOT--Reverting link addition(s) by Red River Beach to revision 420894441 (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Iman-Al-Obeidi/204101406285342?sk=wall) |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
[[Image:Iman al-Obeidi being gagged by minders at Tripoli, 26 March 2011.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A young crying Libyan woman being gagged by hand and dragged away by men in plain clothes.|Iman al-Obeidi being [[gagged]] by hand and dragged away by minders in [[Tripoli]], [[Libya]] on March 26, 2011. Photo by [[Sky News]]]] |
[[Image:Iman al-Obeidi being gagged by minders at Tripoli, 26 March 2011.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A young crying Libyan woman being gagged by hand and dragged away by men in plain clothes.|Iman al-Obeidi being [[gagged]] by hand and dragged away by minders in [[Tripoli]], [[Libya]] on March 26, 2011. Photo by [[Sky News]]]] |
||
'''Iman al-Obeidi''' (also ''Eman al-Obaidi''<ref name="ThReut_Eman_Obaidi" />) ([[Arabic]]: إيمان العبيدي) is a Libyan woman who, on March 26, 2011, stormed into the restaurant of the Rixos Hotel in [[Tripoli]], [[Libya]], residence for most of the international press corps in Libya, in an attempt to inform the foreign reporters that Libyan government troops had raped her.<ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news|author=Damien McElroy|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8408586/Libyan-woman-tells-journalists-in-Tripoli-that-regimes-men-raped-and-tortured-her.html|title=Libyan woman tells journalists in Tripoli that regime's men raped and tortured her|date=March 26, 2011|accessdate=March 26, 2011|work=[[The Telegraph]] |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5xTcZ9N5K |archivedate=March 26, 2011}}</ref><ref name=AP>{{cite news|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hduedcrUBz4h0cWjB_ixFB4EDJoA?docId=dd3121da9c4640509745c4c689a29c30|title=Libyan claims rape by soldiers, is dragged away|work= [[Associated Press]]|date=March 26, 2011|accessdate=March 26, 2011}}</ref> A scuffle took place in which government security forces took Obeidi out of the hotel to an unknown destination and used violence against journalists who had tried to defend Obeidi.<ref name="NYT" /> A government spokesperson claimed that Obeidi was drunk and possible mentally ill<ref name=Telegraph /><ref name=AP /> and a ''[[Financial Times]]'' journalist who had tried to protect Obeidi was deported.<ref name="NYT" /> |
'''Iman al-Obeidi''' (also ''Eman al-Obaidi''<ref name="ThReut_Eman_Obaidi" />) ([[Arabic]]: إيمان العبيدي) is a Libyan woman who, on March 26, 2011, stormed into the restaurant of the Rixos Hotel in [[Tripoli]], [[Libya]], residence for most of the international press corps in Libya, in an attempt to inform the foreign reporters of her claim that Libyan government troops had raped her.<ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news|author=Damien McElroy|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8408586/Libyan-woman-tells-journalists-in-Tripoli-that-regimes-men-raped-and-tortured-her.html|title=Libyan woman tells journalists in Tripoli that regime's men raped and tortured her|date=March 26, 2011|accessdate=March 26, 2011|work=[[The Telegraph]] |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5xTcZ9N5K |archivedate=March 26, 2011}}</ref><ref name=AP>{{cite news|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hduedcrUBz4h0cWjB_ixFB4EDJoA?docId=dd3121da9c4640509745c4c689a29c30|title=Libyan claims rape by soldiers, is dragged away|work= [[Associated Press]]|date=March 26, 2011|accessdate=March 26, 2011}}</ref> A scuffle took place in which government security forces took Obeidi out of the hotel to an unknown destination and used violence against journalists who had tried to defend Obeidi.<ref name="NYT" /> A government spokesperson claimed that Obeidi was drunk and possible mentally ill<ref name=Telegraph /><ref name=AP /> and a ''[[Financial Times]]'' journalist who had tried to protect Obeidi was deported.<ref name="NYT" /> |
||
==Rixos Hotel visit== |
==Rixos Hotel visit== |
||
Revision as of 00:01, 27 March 2011
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
Iman al-Obeidi (also Eman al-Obaidi[1]) (Arabic: إيمان العبيدي) is a Libyan woman who, on March 26, 2011, stormed into the restaurant of the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, residence for most of the international press corps in Libya, in an attempt to inform the foreign reporters of her claim that Libyan government troops had raped her.[2][3] A scuffle took place in which government security forces took Obeidi out of the hotel to an unknown destination and used violence against journalists who had tried to defend Obeidi.[4] A government spokesperson claimed that Obeidi was drunk and possible mentally ill[2][3] and a Financial Times journalist who had tried to protect Obeidi was deported.[4]
Rixos Hotel visit
After entering the hotel and finding foreign journalists at the hotel's restaurant, Obeidi showed her injuries, which New York Times described as "a broad bruise on her face, a large scar on her upper thigh, several narrow and deep scratch marks lower on her leg, and marks that seemed to come from binding around her hands and feet."[4] Speaking in English, Obeidi said that she had been arrested at a checkpoint near Tripoli because she was from the rebel-held city of Benghazi, and detained for two days.[4] She went on to say that she had been tied up, urinated and defecated on, and raped by 15 men.[3][5] She also pleaded for friends still in held captive.[4] Obeidi said that local residents near her place of detention had helped her to escape.[6]
Obeidi's actions triggered what has been described variously as a wild scuffle,[4] a brawl,[1], and a melee,[2] as government forces tried to silence her. Government minders and security forces beat and kicked intervening reporters, smashed a CNN camera,[5] threatened the Sky News team with a gun,[7] and seized a device a Financial Times reporter had used to record Obeidi's words. Members of the hotel staff accused her of being a "traitor" and two women grabbed table knives to threaten both her and the journalists.[4] A Reuters reporter[1] was the only journalist who was able to speak with her; the rest of her statements were captured by cameras. [4] Obeidi was finally subdued, dragged out of the hotel and driven to an unknown location.[3] The incident further strained relationships between the international media and Muammar Gaddafi's regime over the government's tight control of the foreign reporters and their access to Libyan civilians for independent information.[3][2]
Gaddafi government's response
At a press-conference held later on the same day, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said that investigators had found al-Obeidi "drunk and possibly mentally challenged,"[3] – a suggestion that raised fears that she would face an indefinite incarceration in a government-controlled mental institution,[2] continuing the list of forced disappearances the opposition charges the Gaddafi regime with.[2] Ibrahim also said the authorities were going to "find her family and see if she was really abused or not"[8] and promised the media to provide independent access to Obeidi within a few days.[2] After international journalists repeatedly demanded to see al-Obeidi and challenged Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim on the issue, Kaim replied that the incident was under investigation and added, "We will let you know."[5]
One of the journalists who had tried to protect Obeidi from the security forces, Charles Clover of The Financial Times, was deported from Libya shortly after Obeidi's appearance at the hotel. He had already been told the previous night that he would have to leave Libya because of "inaccuracies" in his reports.[4]
Global Response
Within hours, news of the kidnapping of Iman al-Obeidi spread around the world, with video and photos going viral on the Internet. A number of hashtags associated with her story were quickly adopted by concerned persons on Twitter, including varied spellings #EmanAlObeidy, #EmanAlObeidi, #EmanAlObaidy and #WhereIsEmanAlObeidy.
References
- ^ a b c "Woman cries for help, says abused by Gaddafi men". Thomson Reuters. March 26, 2011. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g Damien McElroy (March 26, 2011). "Libyan woman tells journalists in Tripoli that regime's men raped and tortured her". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Libyan claims rape by soldiers, is dragged away". Associated Press. March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kirkpatrick, David D. (March 26,2011). "Libyan Woman Struggles to Tell Media of Her Rape". New York Times/Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "Libyan woman bursts into hotel to tell her story of rape". CNN. March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Libyan woman tells of abuse". Al Jazeera English. 2011-03-26. Archived from the original on 2011-03-26. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Lisa Holland (March 26, 2011). "Tripoli shock: Minders snatch 'rape victim'". Sky News. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ Hadeel al-Shalchi (March 26, 2011). "Libyan claims rape by soldiers, is dragged away". Associated Press. San Francisco Gate. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
External links
- [1] by Free Hindu
- Report and video footage by CNN
- Report and video footage by Sky News
- Video footage by The Telegraph.
- Video footage by Channel 4.
- Photographs by Thomson Reuters: [2] [3] [4] [5].
- Facebook We are all people of faith-Obeidi
