Qaddhafi’s use of Mass Rape, Torture and Abduction as a War Tools

allibyah@yahoo.com

                                                                                                  28 March 2011

Qaddhafi’s use of Mass Rape, Torture and Abduction as a War Tools

                                           

1.        The world media witnessed at first hand the methods used by the Gaddafi regime to silence the population and prevent them for reporting the abuse his men are inflicting on the innocent civilians. On Saturday the 25^th March 2011, a very distressed Libyan woman named Iman Al-Obaidi burst into  Hotel Rixos in Tripoli, where foreign journalists are based, shouting that she had been detained and raped by Colonel  Qaddhafi militiamen. She was heard saying that wide spread rape of women in Tripoli is being perpetrated by the militias. She showed marks of injury and abuse on her body, an indication of the kind of torment she had been put through.

2.        A man named Jalal Turky was videoed and photographed threatening the journalists while spitting, hurtling and dragging the woman away from the hotel. A number of journalists were hurt and their cameras smashed when they tried to protect the lady and document the incident.

3.        Mass and multiple rapes are regarded by international law as a crime against humanity. We salute the bravery of this woman and call for the perpetrators of these crimes to be brought to justice.

4.        This is one story from Tripoli which points to the fact that what this woman went through is only the tip of the iceberg. The civilian population in this capital city is being subjected to extreme measures of repression including mass rape, torture, and execution of men and women.

5.        The Libyan League for Human Rights (LLHR) holds colonel Qaddhafi fully responsible for the lady’s safety and calls for her immediate release from detention. This woman requires immediate medical attention as she was clearly under extreme stress as a result of what she went through. The regime must guarantee her safety, indicate her whereabouts and allow the international media to meet with her and report on her condition. This applies to this woman and to all others who have been abused or tortured.

6.        LLHR also calls on the UN Human Rights Council, and other Human Rights bodies to condemn the ongoing massive violations of human rights perpetrated by the Qaddhafi regime against the civilian population which is in dire need for protection especially in Tripoli and in the  besieged cities of Misurata, Zawya, Zentan  as the UNSC resolution 1973 clearly demanded.